The Realization That You are In love
by MeryKey-7
Summary: Feelings surge as Max and Alec find their way to Freak Nation. Logan finds the cure... you know the drill. MA
1. Chapter 1: The Realization I

**The Realization That You´re Inlove.**

**Summary**: Alec realizes that he loves someone, but she has a boyfriend. Max is in it. After HG, before LATR.

**Disclamer**: The characters of Dark Angel do not belong to me. They belong to a guy named James and I think the other´s one name is something like Eglee or something like that.

**Author´s Note**: I'm reposting this story, which I posted once a couple of years ago with a different Pen-name… I fixed the grammatical, spelling and what not mistakes and decided to post it again. It's a cheesy story, something I wrote when I was REALLY! Cheesy, so I'll be trying to change that. The story has already been written so the post will be rather quickly, just in case someone likes the story… and review would be great! Enjoy

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Chapter 1

The realization of being in love with someone you never thought you would even like is overwhelming.

Two hours ago, when he saw her getting back with her ex, he felt something he had not felt for a long time. Pain, not exactly physical. Pain in his heart, like if someone had ripped it out. Yeah, I know, it sounds too cheesy for him, but that was how he felt.

And, what does a man do to forget pain? Of course, he gets drunk. But this particular man can not get drunk, he only can get a little dizzy, that is all. Crap.

He was sitting in Crash, trying to get just a little drunk, when she entered through the door. So beautiful as always. He never realized how beautiful she was until today. Behind her, her boyfriend entered. _God! I hate him! Why does he have to be so close to her? Why does he have to touch her shoulder! WHY DO THEY HAVE TO BE SO FUCKING WRONG FOR EACH OTHER AND NOT REALIZE IT!_

'Hi, Alec,' she said.

'Hi,' he just said, without looking at her. She looked at him and then back to her boyfriend and walked to their friends´ table.

He did no t want to turn around and see her, happy with his arms around her.

'Hey, Boo. What´s wrong?' Cindy. Always Cindy. She was the only person who could read him like an open book. _Maybe she´s Manticore,_ he thought, obviously knowing how ridiculous was that.

'What do you mean?'

'Come on, OC ain´t stupid. Something´s going on inside that little head of yours. So tell me what it is.'

He turned around from the bar to confront the entire place and her, watching him once in a while. 'Women problem, isn´t it?' asked Cindy.

'Maybe.'

'Oh, what? You can´t find a nice bimboo to get busy with or you can´t take THAT nice bimboo out of your head?'

He looked to where Cindy was pointing. She.

'I don´t know what you´re talking about,' he lied.

'Well, when you fell like talking you know where to find me,' said OC and went back to her table.

Alec sighed and tried to relax. He drank his alcohol and listened to the music.

"... she´s gotta be somebody´s baby

yes, she must be somebody´s baby..."

_She´s somebody´s angel..._ Alec thought. _This sucks, I´m gonna go._

Suddenly... 'Alec, can I talk to you?'

The world stopped. She touched his shoulder. He could not move, could not speak, could not breath.

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Reviews are mostly welcome!


	2. Chapter 2: Why Alec?

So, I'm back with chapter 2. This was, actually, Chapters 2 and 3. But as the first 10 chapters were way too short, I decided to put some of them together. Now, Thank you to Alana84 and Loisen. Alana I hope this chapter will help with your doubts. This chapter takes place before chapter 1, it will explain why Logan touching Max and all... hope you guys enjoy it! And as always, reviews would be great, but you're not obliged to do so!

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**Chapter 2**

'What?'

'I found the cure!'

Max did not know how to react. She was confused. Was not thiswhat she wanted? Now, she was not so sure.

'Aren't you happy?' Logan asked.

'Yeah! Yes, it's just, is it for real this time?'

'Yes, I paged so you could go and pick it up. But I don't want you t go alone.'

'Ok, I'll call—' but Max was interrupted by someone standing in the door way.

'Hey guys, what's up?'

It was Alec. Why? Why Alec? She could have called Cece.

'I called Alec,' said Logan.

'Yeah, I can see that,' she said a little upset. 'Just tell me where we have to go, ok?'

Alec was quiet all the time. After Logan wrote down in a piece of paper the lab's direction, Max pushed Alec out of Logan's door without answering the 'where are we going?'s.

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'What are we stealing anyway?' asked Alec as Max parked her bike in front of the building. **

'We are not going to steal anything. We have to pick... something,' said Max. She did not know why, but she did not want to tell Alec about the cure.

'What exactly?'

'It doesn´t matter, ok? Just be quiet,' she said as they entered a little office.

'Are you Dr. Walt?' asked Max.

'Yes, may I help you?'

'Yeah, I'm here to pick up a package for Logan Cale.'

'Yes, Cale, here it is. Do you have the money?'

'Yeah,' said Max and threw an envelop to the man.

'Ok, ten thousand,' said the geeky lab guy counting the money. 'Enjoy it.'

Max and Alec left the place. She put the little box inside of her jacket.

'That's all?'

'Yeah, that's all.'

'Hello, 452, long time.'

It was White. Immediately many guns were pointing at them. Oh, shit.

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'Don't even try it. You two won't be able to escape,' said White with a huge smile on his face. 'I have plans for the two of you.' 

White took them to a warehouse out of the city. They were inside of a cage waiting for White.

'So, what's in the little box we picked up?' asked Alec.

'I already told you: nothing important.'

'Max, I want you to know that we're here **because** of that not so important box, so I think at least I deserve to know what's in it!' Alec was really angry now. White had them inside of a cage (what a shock…) and he was planning their deaths, all because they went to get the stupid box from a stupid geek scientist guy. Wait! Lab, Geek, Little Box...

Max could not see him on the eyes. Why? She did not know. 'Inside the box it's... the cure.' She still could not see him.

He knew it, the cure. 'Oh, ... why didn't you tell me it was the cure from the start?'

'I don't know. I don't wanna talk about it, ok?'

God. The cure was there. Now Max and Logan could be together. But for some reason he could not stand thinking about that. Well, he had never been able to see the two of them together. There was something wrong about Tranies hanging around ordinaries, and Max was so blind to the matter she was going to get someone kill. That someone being Logan. Wait a minute, he was supposed to be happy for Max, right? At least, she was not going to kill the guy buy brushing her hand against his by mistake.

'Take 452 first,' said White as he entered the room with two men.

'What! No! Max!" yelled Alec, who could not move much. He was chained to the bars.

Max did not say anything, but she was scared. He knew it by the look on her eyes, which she hided immediately so White could not see it. She was terrified, and he had to do something.

Alec saw them leaving the room with Max.

A burst of preoccupation, desperation and anger flew through him and in a second the chains that attached him to the bars of the cell, were no longer there, neither did the bars.

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	3. Chapter 3: White

Author's Note: Hey, back with Chp 3. Anyway, I thought about getting a Beta but I'm not sure where to get one... and I can't see the grammar mistakes, so I guess that means that I DO need a beta... well, if anyone knows where can I apply for one, please let me know. In the mean time, I want to thank to the people who reviewed... THAKNS! and, on we go to Chapter 3... hope you like it, and as always, if you feel like reviewing, your are free to do so... :D

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**Chapter 3**

There was a long hallway in front of him, at least 20 doors to check. He first would listen if there was someone inside the room, then try to open it and finally check the interior of the room. He was on the sixth door when he heard people inside, so he hid in the previous room he had checked.

'I want you to check the blood sample you took from 452 and the content of the bottle she was carrying in her jacket, and I want them today, understood?' It was White talking to a scientist. They left the hallway.

Alec entered the room from which White left and saw Max tied up on an observation table. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. Was she dead? No, he could hear her breathing deeply. She was asleep. White probably gave her something to put her to sleep so he could take the blood samples and do other things, like dissect her. But why did White want Max's blood? Probably, just another tranie's blood sample.

He stood next to her and let free her arms and legs. 'Max?' he said almost whispering. 'Max,' he said again. Nothing.

She looked so peaceful, childlike. _What the hell is going on with me?_ He knew the answer but was too afraid of it. _You're having the same stupid feeling you've been having since she cried on your shoulder, when she told you about Ben and how you were the only one who knew it. You want to protect her from everything and everyone. But... the last thing Max needs is protection. She can kick the ass of whom ever stands on her way, White included. Since when do you think of the possibility of having feelings towards Max? __How and when did this happen! _

Alec touched Max's face and she immediately opened her eyes and Alec's train of thought came to a sudden stop.

'Alec?' she said with a drowsy voice. 'Where's White?'

'He left a couple of minutes ago. We have to go.'

He helped her to get up from the table.

'How did you escape from the cage?' she asked him.

'Uhmm, I kind of broke it.'

'You broke the cage?' she said a bit surprised.

'Yeah, can we leave now?'

'Ok, ok,' said Max and went to take her jacket. She had not notice how dizzy she felt until she started walking.

Alec was checking if the cost was clear outside the door, when Max leaned over the examination table. Alec, from where he was standing, noticed this, and walked to her.

'Are you Ok?' he asked.

'Yeah. I'm just a bit dizzy… I'm still doped with whatever White gave me.'

'Can you walk?'

'Just give me a minute.'

'We don't have a minute, Max. Can you?'

'Yeah, but not very fast.'

'Ok, don't worry, I'll hold your hand if you get too frightened,' he said, mockingly.

She only smiled.

After that, Alec noticed something on the table next to the one Max was leaning on. He just kept staring at a little bottle. That little bottle, which Max had totally forgotten about. That little bottle which meant Max and Logan would get together at last, would get busy. That easily breakable little bottle. But no, he could not. Did he really think that if the virus was still around, she would get sick of her relationship with Logan and start seeing him in a totally different light?

'Max?'

'I'm ok, really. Let's go before White gets back.'

'The cure,' he simply said, pointing at the bottle with his head. She, from where she was standing, stared at it without knowing what to do. Why the hell she felt so... ashamed or guilty when she named the cure in front of Alec? And why did she have the feeling that she was doing something wrong?

'Stupid scientist.'

White.

Fear crossed Max and Alec's faces as they stared at each other.

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White entered the hall again. 

'Stupid scientist.' _One would believe that scientists are geniuses. Yeah, right, the idiot forgot the bottle 452 was carrying._

He opened the door and discovered an empty room. No 452 anywhere.

'How the hell--?' but poor, old Ames was not able finish that thought because a powerful fist hit his face sending him across the hall. Of course, he could not feel pain, but, hey! If a simple punch sends you across a room, how would you feel?

Ames opened his eyes and saw 494 in front of him.

'How did you get out?' asked White as he stood up, preparing himself for a fight.

'Oh, I broke your cage. I hope it wasn't your favorite." Alec gave Ames a smart-ass answer.

'Don't worry, you'll pay for it...' he smiled, 'with your blood.'

'Bring it on.'

White was the firstto attack. Punch, kick, kick, punch, Alec just avoid them. Max was surprised by how Alec defended himself. She had kicked his ass so many times, and he could have kicked hers quite easily. She wondered why he had not. Back to the fight, Ames had received a lot of punches in the face, and Alec just one or two. He had to finish this fight quickly so they could get the hell out of there. She was against the wall, still not able to balance herself. Max looked inside the room she had been tide up and found a tazer. She took it and at her first opportunity, she electrocuted White. Ten seconds later he was unconscious on the floor and they run like hell out of the warehouse and into Seattle.

An hour later they were on Logan's apartment.

'Hey, guys, where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!'

'White got us,' said Max, not so happy at the memory.

'What! Are you ok?' said Logan stepping closer to Max but not too close.

'Yeah, I'm fine.'

'Did you get it?'

'Yeah, here,' she said taking the bottle out of her jacket and placing it over the table.

'Great! Let's see if it works!' said an enthusiastic Logan, looking for a syringe.

Suddenly, Max started feeling sick. Was she nervous? But, why? I mean, was not this what she wanted? And then, it felt like not. A mistake, maybe? She did not know, she just felt... sick.

She looked for Alec but he was nowhere. He had left. Of course, why would he care if she and Logan went back together? He left without saying a 'Good Luck!' or an 'I'll see you tomorrow' or... _Shit! I didn't thank him._ Well, he obviously did not care if she thanked him or not, otherwise he would have stayed. And why did she care? She had never thanked Alec for anything...

'Here, I found it.'

With a fake smile, 'Great!' said Max.

'But before we do this, there's something I need to know.'

'What?'

'Are you and Alec really together?'

Max took a deep breath, and thought the answer carefully. If she said they were in fact together, she would be free. But free of what? She was not sure yet, but at least it would give her time. No need to tell Logan how she felt. But then, the guy needed to know the truth. It was not fair to him. And all she could think about... was Alec.

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	4. Chapter 4: The Realization II

So, I'm back, with a chappie 4. I don't have a betta yet, I did add on my profile thatI needed a Beta, but still noone has offered. I'd like to thank to Alana and Calistra for your reviews... THANKS! And tried to be careful with the use of prepositions... I hope I did good... well, here's chapter 4... hope you like it!

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**Chapter 4**

The realization of being inlove with someone you never thought you would even like is overwhelming.

Five hours ago, when he paged her and told her they could be together at last, she felt something she had not felt for a long time. Confusion. Confusion about her relationship with Logan. And add all this strange feelings she felt every time she saw Alec or talked to Alec or even thought about Alec. Like butterflies on her stomach. But all this time she had tried to hide it. She had tried to get rid of those feelings, and taking it out on Alec had seem the best option. But, in the long run, that had made it even worse. She knew it was wrong, but in the end, should not she listen to her instincts instead to her head?

She and Logan entered Crash and Logan touched her shoulder. God! It felt so wrong! So strange. She could not stop feeling that if maybe they had not tried to hide their relationship for so long, pretend they were not like that, maybe this would not feel so put of place. She immediately spotted Alec sitting at the bar drinking his whisky, trying to get drunk. He was obviously grumpy about something. Maybe he was mad because she had not thanked him. After all, he had put his ass on danger so she could have the cure. But something about that theory seemed out of place. Alec had never expected Max to even attempt to thank him for any thing good he did. Ok, maybe those moments were far from between, but still, the point remained.

'Hi, Alec,' she said from behind him.

He did not even turn around. 'Hi.'

Ok, she had to talk to OC... Right NOW! She was about to explode.

Logan seemed oblivious to all of this. Of course, he was still touching Max's shoulder. She and the older man approached the table where Original Cindy and Sketchy were sitting.

'Hi, Cindy.'

'Hey, you guys! You found...' said Cindy, but then she realized that Sketchy was there with them. 'You're finally togetha.'

'Something like that,' said Max.

What OC saw in her friend's eyes was confusion, fear and sadness. She had to talk with her girl, because she was not sure why this was happening to Max. And she had to do it alone. 'Hey Sketch, I bet ya can't kick Logan's ass at pool?'

'Really?' said Sketch, 'What d'you say?' he asked Logan.

'Ok,' the old man answered.

So, now that the boys were playing with their sticks, the women could talk.

'Hey, OC?' Max said first, knowing on some level that OC had gotten rid of the boys so they could talk. Though she was not sure how much of what she was feeling Cindy could actually sense.

'Yeah.'

'You know what's up with Alec?'

'OC has no idea. He's all Heathcliff-like again. But, ya know, now Original Cindy has to know what's going on with the boy. Wait here.' And Cindy went over there.

Max was worried. Now that she was honest enough with herself to realize and say that she had, in fact, feelings for the smart-Aleck, she did not want him to hate her. _I think… I'm not sure… sigh._ _Cindy's coming back? So quickly?_

'So?'

'So, the boy doesn't want to spit it out.' Suddenly OC looked deeply into her girl, 'If I didn't know ya better, I would say ya got something for the boy.'

Max was staring at Alec and saw he was getting ready to leave. He paid the bartender and was drinking his last drink.

'I'll tell you later, ok?' said Max, softly.

'Ok, girl, as you like.'

'I gotta talk to him,' she said, getting up from her seat.

She went straight to Alec. On her way there, she felt a little insecure. What was she going to say? Should she tell him about her and Logan not being together? Or how sorry she was she had not thanked him before? Or just threw him the simplest three words in history, yet the most difficult to say._ I love you_. Ugh! LOVE is such a strong word. You have to use it appropriately; otherwise it does not mean anything. But she had never used it lightly. Was that it, could that word actually sum up what she was feeling? Maybe she was getting a bit ahead of things.

_Just breathe._

'Alec, can I talk to you?'

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'I was just leaving, can we talk tomorrow?' 

'No. I've gotta talk to you now. Please?'

She was getting nervous though she did not show it.

Alec sighed, 'Ok. What?'

'Not here. Let's go outside.'

He followed Max outside Crash. It was raining, not too heavily; it was a light rain, so they stayed under the roof of the place's entrance. It was cold but they did not feel it.

'What's going on?' he asked coldly.

Max looked at him straight in the eyes. _Ok, this is it... What the hell do I tell him! I'm free, I'm sorry or I like you?_

'I just needed to talk to you about what happened.'

Alec was confused. 'What happen?'

'You know, the cure, White, everything,' she said a little annoyed. This was how she felt more comfortable around Alec. When she felt annoyed by him.

'Oh, ok, what?' _What's wrong now! What did I do!_

She was quiet for a while, thinking how to say this to him. During the time they had known each other, she had never said something like this to him.

Alec was getting impatient. 'So?'

'So, thank you.'

He was not ready for that. He was actually prepared for a: "I can not be with Logan because the cure did not work and that is your fault" or a: "White changed the cure for water, now Logan's dead and that is your fault", but not for a simple and sweet "thank you".

'Ok,' was the only word he could think of and say. He was in shock.

'Ok,' she repeated. They looked at each other for a while, saying nothing, just enjoying the moment.

Alec was slowly starting to feel more and more out of control, and, unless she stopped looking at him like that, he was going to commit suicide and kiss her. When he realized this, his feet touched the ground and knew he was going to do something stupid.

'I've gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow.' And he left so fast that Max could not ever say good bye.

_Thank god he left, otherwise I would've jump him... God! Am I in heat or something! Gee!_ And she immediately entered Crash again. She was going down the entrance stairs and saw that the men were back at the table. She was just not in the mood to talk to Logan, and the look on his face told her he wanted to do some more talking. Probably, about the fact that she had just been outside with Alec and he was probably imagining some sappy-coupley moment between her and Alec. She wanted to go home, take a hot shower and talk to her girl about these stupid feelings she was having for the Smart Aleck.

'Hey, guys,' she said putting on her jacket, 'I'm gonna bounce. Not feeling so good.'

'Are you ok? Maybe is a side effect of... the… uhm... the medicine,' Logan said trying to dissimulate in front of Sketchy.

'Medicine? For what?' asked Sketchy worriedly.

'Just... a problem that I had. And, no, is not because of "the medicine". I'm tired, long day, you know?' she lied. 'Take you home OC, or you're gonna stay?'

OC thought about it, 'No, coming with ya. Bye boys.' And the two females left the building.

Back in Crash, Sketchy decided he rather spend the rest of the night alone at his apartment than with good old Logan, so he left, leaving Logan alone at the table of the Club.

The girls arrived at their apartment. Max went straight to the shower and Cindy, after changing her clothes, went to prepare Max some hot milk and hot chocolate for herself. Yeah, I know, where the hell did she get chocolate? Well, it's just about having the right contacts, right?

Max left the bathroom already changed, wearing an old t-shirt and some shorts. She saw Cindy waiting for her with hot milk. She smiled. Sometimes Max felt Original Cindy was something between her best friend and her mother. All together in only one person. She was lucky.

'Now come here, and tell your girl what the hell is going on with ya,' said OC.

Yeah, she was lucky.

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Hey, click on the little button at the bottom if you feel like reviewing! 


	5. Chapter 5: Girl talk and boydog talk

HEy, I've got chapter 5 here. Hope you guys like it. I paid attention to prepositions and stuff and I had my Collocation dictionary with me, so I hope it's better than previous chapters. Thanks to those who reviewed, I love your reviews and thanks to those who read it but did not feel like reviewing.Now, if you don't like this chapter, that's ok, I'm not so sure myself. There were things that were way too cheesy for me, but maybe they are not so cheesy after all. Here is where She Ain't Heavy starts. You will realize that I've changed a few things, I've taken conversations out and other things, but this will be seen in coming chapters, for now, thare's only one bit of the episode. If you have any requests, or you want to, I don't know, share an idea you would like to read in the story, please, share it. If I like it, I might include it... just so you know. I'm just posting the story so you guys can read it and like it, not because I want to win a bloody Pulitzer, so... is that how you spell Pulitzer? Oh, yeah! I just googled it... anyway... don't pay attention to my rumblings... and on with the story!**

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****Chapter 5**

Max joined her friend in the couch, took her big glass of hot milk and thought how to begin.

'I don't know where to start,' said Max.

'Well, why don't ya start telling OC what's going on with ya boy.'

'Well, I think he was mad because I didn't thank him when he helped me, I mean, after all he saved me from White... he kicked White's ass! And for once he saved mine, you know? So I went over there and told him "I'm sorry and Thank you", though I'm not sure why. It's not like he really cares what I think, anyway.'

Cindy looked at her, confused.

'Cindy assumes ya talking ´bout Alec.'

'Yeah.'

'Oh, ok, 'cause Original was talking ´bout Logan... Now that answers a lot of questions.' She took a sip of her hot chocolate and went on, 'So, how did ya fell for the boy?'

Max thought a minute. She tried to deny it to her friend but she had been defeated the minute she opened her mouth.

'I don't know, it just happened. A lot of things have happened since Maticore went down. And I always thought Alec **WAS** Manticore. But, looking back… I think I tried to convince myself that Alec was actually the bad guy. The fact that he looks just like Ben, it made me feel… I don't know,' said Max, for she did not want to reveal what she really felt when she looked at Alec's hazel eyes, Ben's eyes. Guilt. 'But all I knew is that I had to hate him, because he was not Ben, and he was just another loyal soldier to Manticore.' Max stopped for a moment, organizing her thoughts. "And then I saw him with Rachel. That's when it hit me. Maybe Alec was not that loyal. Maybe he didn't know any better. And I keep thinking that I would be just like him if I hadn't escaped. I get the feeling he doesn't like to get attach to people because he was taught not to by Manticore, and because she died because of him.'

'Well, it looks to me like he's changing, boo. I mean, ain't he always there when you need help with a transgenic sibling?'

'Yeah. He's not such a sociopath after all. I mean, he is a pig and all he cares about is money, but he just chooses what to care about. He always helps when I need help with a transgenic, but not if it has anything to do with an Eyes Only job.' She smiled as she remember their cage fight. Alec had brought thaton himself. If he had just cooperated, she would not have kicked his ass… or, well, his "jewels". 'I used to think that Alec was not a very complicated person. He was just a jerk, a dick… a moron, if you must. But he's far much complicated than that. And… I sort of like it. I want someone I can rely on, but I want that someone who can surprise me as well. I want someone I can get mad at, and then make up with, you know? And that hasn't happened with Logan in quite a while.'

'I don't know, boo.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, OC was just wondering if you're sure about this thing ´bout Alec. Ya sure it's not just that you're scared to have a real relationship with Logan? The virus´s gone, you and Logan can actually be together now. Doesn't that freak you out a little?'

'No, it doesn't freak me out, and that's the problem. I don't feel anything. No relief, no joy, no… nothing. I just have this feeling on my stomach that tells me "it's wrong". But when I think about Alec my head knows it's wrong, I mean, it's **ALEC** after all. He represents everything that's wrong in this world. But at the same time I want to feel this way about him and it's the greatest sensation I ever had. It's intoxicating, and I like it. Though I hate it,' Max sighed in frustration. 'Damn, I don't know! I can't believe I just said that,' she said a bit mortified.

'**You** are complicated, suga',' said OC with a smile. 'What did ya tell Logan? About Alec, I mean?'

'Well, that's the thing. Remember when I saved Alec's ass from the police like two weeks ago? That he crashed here that night?' Cindy nodded. 'Well, Logan saw him leaving the next morning and he thought Alec and me... that we had... ya know, and I didn't contradicted him.'

'Ah, so you were trying to keep Logan as far away as possible. Don't push your luck, aiight?'

'Exactly!' Max stayed quiet for a while.

'What is it boo?'

'Logan asked me if Alec and I were really together, right before injecting the cure.'

'And what did ya say?'

Max looked at her friend right in the eyes. She was actually ashamed of what she had done. She should have told Logan the truth. The whole truth. 'I told him it was true.'

'And ya want it to be true?' asked OC.

'Me and Alec are not like that. I don't think we would be any good together. Besides, he doesn't want me that way.'

'What way?'

'You know... the way Logan wants me.'

Cindy sighed. She took both empty glasses to the sink. From the kitchen sink, OC stared at Max. 'Can Original Cindy give ya an advice?'

'Sure, I could use a piece of advice from OC.'

'Remember the last time ya told OC you and the guy weren't like that? You died, then came to life to be with him, but you couldn't touch him 'cause of that virus. You should be able to say what you want, boo. You should be able to act like a stupid girl and write in every single piece of paper you find, "Max & Alec" if you feel like it. Girl, just because you're a genetically engineered soldier that's running from a loony cult that wants to kill ya, it doesn't mean you are not a 21 year old girl! And you should enjoy them once in a while.'

Max liked what Cindy was saying. It seemed so easy when she put it that way.

'But that doesn't mean he wants me other than to get laid,' said Max.

'Oh, my Lord! OC can't believe what her ears are hearing! A girl as beautiful, and funny and intelligent as you are, and with a body like yours, really thinks that a boy won't love her.' Max smiled at her friend. Cindy sat again, next to her again. 'I might not know Alec that well, but I think he cares about you way too much like to leave it at a one-night stand, boo.' Max smile again. 'And don't feel so guilty. These things happen. People just stop loving each other.'

'But Logan still loves me,' Max answered.

'I know. But if you feel this is what you want, then do it. Don't hesitate. And don't stay with the guy 'cause you feel guilty or pity.' Cindy looked at her wristwatch. 'Well, it's late, OC has to be up early. Bye, boo.'

'Bye OC, and thank you.'

'No problem suga´. Oh, and Max,' said OC before entering her room. Max turned her head so she could look at her. 'Don't worry, Alec is totally into you.' Saying this, OC disappeared through the door.

Max smiled. Maybe OC was right. Maybe she should stop worrying about the world for a couple of hours and act like a 21 year old girl.

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'Josh! Where are you, boy?' yelled Alec as he entered Joshua's place.

'I'm here, Alec,' said Joshua from his room.

Alec stood in the door way. 'How are you hanging Josh?'

'Hanging?' asked the half-man half-dog as he still could not understand the X-5´s slang.

'How you feeling?'

'I'm "hanging" down.'

'What are you doing to the windows?'

'I'm painting them.'

'You run out of paper?'

'No.'

'So...?'

'So... I'm painting them,' said Joshua.

Alec looked at his poor friend; he was sad, very sad. 'Wanna talk?'

'I miss Annie,' said Josh, still painting the windows.

'I know you do pall.'

'I want to get out of these walls, Alec. I want to go outside, and talk to the upstairs people.'

'You know,' Alec answered, thinking about something. 'If you want, you can always go to Terminal City.'

'Terminal City?' said Josh, turning around and looking at his X5 friend for the first time, with curiosity.

'Yeah, Max didn't tell you?'

'No, no Terminal City.'

'Well, Terminal City is a city that was closed down a few years back for a toxic spill. But we transgenics are immune to it, so a lot of anomalies, X-3s, X-4s, X-5s, X-6s, even some X-8s are staying there.'

'Really? No screaming, no running?'

Alec laughed, 'No, Josh, no running, no screaming.'

'Joshua outside... that was the plan.'

'Well, I'll bring you a map, and that my friend, will be the plan.'

'Thank you, Alec.' Joshua patted Alec's shoulder.

'Sure, boy.'

'Alec, good friend.'

Josh could not stop smiling but, now, it was Joshua the one to see his friend's sadness.

'How is Alec hanging?' asked the dog-man.

'What you talking ´bout, Josh? I'm all right,' said Alec, trying to hide the sad look on his face with a Smart Aleck grin.

'Alec lying.'

Ok, so OC **AND** Josh were the only ones who could read him like an open book. Joshua looked a little naive but he was not naive at all.

'Max,' said Josh.

Alec thought about it. Was it really Max who was making him feel like this? Or her situation with Logan? The non existent "relationship" which became alive last night? Or maybe the fact that he may have feelings for Max, other than horniness? Ok, we already covered that part. _You **HAVE** feelings for her! Otherwise how do you explain all this stupid things you feel when you see her, or think about her, or touch her arm when you walk by her or touch her hand when you hand her a package?_

'Yeah,' Alec finally said to Joshua's statement. 'Logan found the cure. Didn't she tell you?'

'Little Fella hasn't come yet.'

'Well, they're together now.'

Josh patted his back again in a comforting way, 'I'm sorry.'

'No, that's ok. I mean, she's happy now, right? So I should be happy for her. Right?' Alec was lying. That's what Joshua thought. 'I mean, I don't have anything against Logan, he's ok. It's just—'

'Alec don't need to be happy if little fella is getting busy with Logan.'

Ok, Alec did not want to think about that. _I mean, they probably were up all night having sex._ An image of Max and Logan naked, "getting busy" flashed through his head. Wow! Alec wished Logan looked like that in the real life. Thin, no muscles, like a sick worm. Disgusting... ha!

'I'm gonna go Josh,' he said, standing up. And before leaving through the door he said: 'Oh! And I'll bring you the map to TC at launch time, ok?'

'Ok, Alec, bye.'

**

* * *

****LATER THAT DAY**

Max had left Jam Pony after the incident between Normal and Sky, and went straight to the Space Needle.

Things were getting out of control. Normal had threatened Sky with a gun because a couple of morons had drawn a barcode on his neck. It was at times like this that Max wished she could just leave Seattle, go somewhere nobody knew her, but there were too many things she could not leave.

Max arrived at Joshua's house with some groceries.

'Hey, Joshua,' she said looking for a clean place where she could leave the food. Max realized Joshua had not said anything. 'Brought you some stuff.' Joshua was still not talking. Max saw what he was doing to the windows. _He's just dealing with Annie's dead._ 'Easel's over there.' _Ok, that wasn't funny._ 'What's up with the maps?'

'Terminal City.'

'Been there. There's no much to see. People usually go there when don't have anything to lose.'

'Like downstairs people. Transhumans.'

'Who told you that?'

'Alec. Why didn't you, Max?'

'Because, it's dangerous there.'

'We're immune.'

'And this is your home.'

Now Joshua turned around and Max could see he was angry and also hurt.

'This is not my home anymore, Max,' he said with a hard, cold tone. 'Everything reminds me of Annie. Books, chairs, sitting, eating... painting.'

'You have to hang on. It'll get better. I promise,' said Max putting a hand over the big dog-man's shoulder.

'No Max, I decided to go to TC.'

And Max knew there was nothing she could do or say to convince him to stay in Father's house. Well, maybe there was something she could do **AND** say to the person responsible for this... Alec. _Idiot!_

**

* * *

****THE NEXT MORNING**

Max arrived at the doors of Jam Pony and found Alec there.

'Max, hold up, hold up,' he said and checked Max's neck. Her barcode was starting to show again.

'What're you doing?' she asked surprised.

'Yeah, you need a little laser touch up.'

'Thanks for the tip. Now I gotta talk to you.'

''Bout?'

''Bout Joshua moving to TC,' she said in a whisper so nobody except Alec would hear her.

'Yeah, so?'

'So! So, it's too dangerous for him, he could get caught by White's men!' she said again in a whisper.

'Max, Joshua can take care of himself, ok? He's not a kid.'

'Alec, he doesn't know how things are here in the real world, he could get into trouble. Now, go to his place and convince him to stay there,' she said in a bossy kind of way, which Alec did not appreciate much. Actually, he was pissed now.

'You know Max? Is not that Josh doesn't understand the outside world, it's you who doesn't understand Josh. You think he's a five year old boy who needs you to protect him. But you know what? Under that naive puppy-dog look he has, there's a grown man, Max, who's tired of being inside of that house. You say you took him out of that jail Manticore was, but then you threw him into another one. Except this time he can actually see what he's missing, and he's suffering. The woman he loved died. He needed time to figure what he wanted. Well, he already figured out what he wants and that's being with people like him. And if that means moving to TC, then he has my support.'

Max was speechless, 'But you can't..." she tried to say but Alec interrupted her.

'You know what you're problem is? You have to control everything. Control everybody's life. That's why you feel so guilty when something happens to one of us. And I bet that's why you hate me so much, because I don't let you to control me. And just a guess, I bet that's why you love Logan so much, ah? Because he lets you boss him around.' Alec knew right away that he had crossed the line there, and he knew he was taking some of his frustration out on her, but he was really pissed off with her so he did not care.

Max just stared at Alec, saying nothing. Just staring with this deep sadness in her eyes, which did nothing to him. At least, not right then.

'Oh, and by the way, I wouldn't go in there if I were you,' he said in a harsh tone. 'Normal and Sketchy are all trippin´ about the little stunt you pulled yesterday.' And saying this he left Max in Jam Pony's entrance.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6: Going after Max

Chappie 6, for you... hope you guys like it... I didn't really like it... a lot of blah! you know? A lot of Alec's feelings towards Max... I dont know! just read it! And thank you to those who reviewed, thank you to those who didn't! I'm off to bed, you're off to read!

(I would like to thank Emma for her reviews, which really help me a lot to fix thegrammatical mistakes you may find in this story. THANKS!)

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 6**

OC arrived home from Crash to find her girl in her room, packing her belongings.

She stood in Max's doorway, looking at her friend. 'Whatcha you doing?' asked Cindy.

Max, who knew OC had arrived home and was behind her before she even spoke, turned around to see her girlfriend.

'I'm leaving town,' she said and turned back to her bag.

'What you mean leaving town?' asked OC really shocked.

'White's on my ass 24/7, I can't go back to work, I can't see Logan and Joshua said he doesn't need me anymore, why am I staying then?'

'I'm here for one.'

'Yeah and one day White and his men are going to burst through that door and you're liable to get caught in the crossfire.'

'I'll kick their asses.'

'I'm serious,' said Max looking at her friend, 'I've stayed too long. I've got to go somewhere new, somewhere nobody knows who I am. Maybe, I'll even be happy.'

'What about Logan? You know even if ya two ain´t together, he's counting on ya.'

'He'll be fine, he's got his all Eyes Only thing, he'll just... he'll be fine.'

'Aha, ok. What about Alec? Aren't ya supposed to be in love with him?'

Uh! That was not fair!

'I'm not inlove with Alec... he's... he's gonna be fine. He's better off without me in the picture.'

'And who's gonna save him next time he gets his cute little transgenic ass into trouble?'

'He can handle it by himself. He doesn't need me anymore, just like Joshua. They're big boys now, they can take care of themselves, apparently,' she said. OC noted the sarcasm in her voice.'

"If you say so."

* * *

Outside Max's and OC´s building, the two friends said goodbye. 

'Before you go, there's something I want to say,' said OC. 'You, Max Guevara, are my sister, you are my family. And I don't care whatcha say… you'll never be happy away from your family, boo.'

Max hugged her girl, 'I love you, and I'm gonna miss you like hell,' she said between sobs.

'I love you too.'

'Take care of yourself, ok?'

'You too, boo.'

Max took off after that, not noticing that she was being followed.

* * *

Alec arrived at Joshua's house. He was hoping to find Max there so he could apologize for what he had said. He did not regret everything he had said, after all who is he to tell anyone how to take care of someone, how to love? And he knew he had crossed that fine line Max had drawn between them, the 'it's none of your business' line. At the same time, he felt proud of himself for he thought he must have been the first person to tell Max she was a control freak. A person can care, can worry, but what Max was doing with Josh is the kind of thing he had watched on a movie once… the poor kid had to live inside a plastic bubble because his mother wanted him to be safe from the world. All in all, Alec could tell that Max had been hurt by the look in her eyes. He had only seen those sad eyes once or twice, and he did not want to be the reason of her suffering. 

'Max? Josh? Where are you guys?' he said, then he found the maps he had given to Joshua the day before.

Next stop: Terminal City.

* * *

The place was dark, wet, dirty, and smelled funny. Things Alec completely hated. Suddenly at least ten guns were pointing at him, 

'Don't move!' said a bat-looking guy.

'Hey, fellas,' said a very cool Alec, as if he knew something the rest did not.

'What are you doing here?' said again the bat-guy.

'I'm X-5,' said Alec.

'Then head over to Oak Street with your own kind,' said another one.

'Well, I'm looking for a friend of mine, one of... your kind,' said Alec thinking that was the most stupid thing he had ever heard. They were the same kind: Manticore kind. Fair enough, these guys could definitely not blend among ordinary people, but they were all "Made in FreakHouse".

'You found him,' said Joshua smiling, coming through the armed transhumans.

Once they were in the headquarters of the transhumans, Alec could finally ask Joshua. 'Is Max here?'

'No, she's not.'

'I thought she was with you, you now? Trying to convince you to stay at Father's house.'

'No. Is she alright?'

Now, Alec was starting to get worried about Max. Why? He did not know. He just felt a tingling sensation in the pit of his stomach, the sametingling senasationhe had felt a few times before, back at Manticore, right before something bad happened.

'I don't know,' he answered to Joshua's question.

'You don't know?'

'I don't know,' said Alec thinking.

He took his cell phone and dialled Logan's number. She was probably there, with him, catching up with sex.

The phone rang but nobody picked it up. Come on! They could at least stop a minute and pick up the God damn phone so he would not be so fucking worried! The transgenic gave up and hung up. But the feeling in his stomach would not leave. So he tried again, but dialled a different number. Max's number. It was worth a try, right?

'Go for Original.'

'Hey OC. It's Alec. Put Max on the phone.' There was a deep silence on the other line, which was interrupted by Alec's worried voice. 'Cindy?'

'She ain't here.'

'And where is she?'

Again, Cindy opted for the long, thick silence. The silence and the not straight answer were getting the best of Alec.

'Alec,' OC finally said. 'She's gone. She left town.'

Suddenly his world fell apart. This girl he had met not so long ago, this girl who had saved his butt so many times, this girl with who he had fallen in love with, left. He did not even have a chance to tell her how he felt about her. Not that she would have even cared.It was probably for the best. She had most surely left with Logan. That would explain why he had not picked up the phone. She just left all this shit behind. White, the transgenic hunt, Normal, the always such a pain in the ass... well, him. He did not have the chance either to tell her how sorry he was about the way he had talked to her that morning.

'She left with Logan, didn't she?' He tried to hide the bitter sweetness off his voice, but no matter what a great actor Alec was, Cindy was an expert on this kind of things, and she picked up the boy's feelings by just hearing him.

OC's heart was aching as much as Alec's was right now. She did not know what to say to the poor boy. Well, actually, Max had not told her anything about not saying she had left just half an hour ago give or take, so...

'What! No! Hey, boo, I got flash news for ya: Max and Logan aren't together anymore, ok?'

Alec's heart started to beat again; his world was not falling apart after all.

'Look boo, I don't think this is the time for a chit chat, ok? She left because she was sad and tired of being sad.'

'Sad?'

'Yeah, she said that Joshua didn't need her anymore, White's always after her and couldn't see Logan anymore, why stay?'

Yeah, she had not even thought about him. This fact only proved that he had been right to think that confessing his feeling to Max would be an utter waist of time.

'And she was also sad ´bout something that happened with you. She said you would be better if she just left. But ya know? As we're talking, she's getting closer and closer to Canada or something, so OC thinks you should move your skinny transgenic ass and find my girl.'

Alec never said good bye to OC, he just hung up his cell, told Josh he would be back in a little while and hopped on his bike. He knew exactly where Max would head towards before leaving Seattle.

Then minutes later he had arrived at The Space Needle.

* * *

Sorry for the grammatical and spelling mistakes you might find in this chapter, I really did try my best, but, oh, well... IF THERE'S ANYONE INTERESTED IN BEING A BETA, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH ME AT: THANKS! 


	7. Chapter 7: She Ain't Heavy, She's my Sis

Hey, guys, here's chapter 7 of this story. If you guys haven't figured it out yet, this is She Ain't Heavy MeryK-Style... aka M/A! I know that there's got to be at least 1000 stories in which the writers change the whole season, so it ends with Max and Alec together... and, I'm sorry, this is a little like those stories, but unlike those, Max doesn't magically fall inlove with Alec and they are not all cute around each other, and even though I don't particularly like Logan, I'm not going to portrait him as an idiotic ass. I'm trying to keep it real, ya know? I mean, Alec really annoys her, and he IS really annoying, so why change that, when that's the funniest thing about their relationship? I changed some of the dialogues, and some of the situations, and from now on you're gonna find the rest of the episodes towards the end of the season, along with some other situations and things that were not showed (like where the hell Biggs and Cece came from). Well, I really liked writing this chappie, and I hope you guys like it as well. And I would like to dedicate this one to Emma. I know I already said this on the e-mail I sent you, but I still feel a bit... guilty, I thank you very much, it was so awesome of you, but you are very busy and I don't want to bother you. I'll be the happiest person ever if you just keep reading my story and reviewing, that's all I want from you right now, nothing more... THANKS! Well, so, read the friggin' chapter ant tell me what you guys think!

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Max made a little stop before leaving Seattle. The Space Needle. This place had given her the peace she could not get in the city below; she had always found the right answers there. Just like Ben and his high place. Suddenly, Max remembered Ben... and his death. Maybe Seattle had not given her so many good moments after all. This was the place where she had been shot, hadbeen beat, where she had shed more tears, where she had almost killed her boyfriend with an engineered virus, and where she had lost four of her siblings: Tinga, Brin, Zack and Ben.

But this was also the place where she had grown up. She had learned to care about others, to love. She had found a cause. She had met her girl and best friend, Original Cindy; Joshua the dog boy; Logan the cyber journalist; and she had fallen in love with an ass who hated her: Alec. _OK! STOP IT! Otherwise, you won't be able to leave!_

Max stood up and saw for the last time the city of Seattle from the top of the Space Needle. She was going to miss it.

She hopped on her bike again and speeded off into the night.

Max was getting farther and farther away from the city, when she noticed a rider by her side, but when she looked in order to check on this person, she saw that the rider looked exactly like her. _Oh, My god!_ Suddenly, her reflection pulled out a gun and shot at Max's rear tire. She flew away from the road, and passed out when she hit the ground.

**

* * *

**Max woke up to find herself tided to a post in an abandoned building. She heard the conversation the other girl was having over the phone. She had to be a clone. I mean, this girl looked, talked, even walked like her. She and this girl were 'twin sisters' like Ben and Alec. The men looked exactly the same. She had mistaken Alec for Ben, when she first met him, after all. 

'You look familiar. Have we met before?' asked Max full of sarcasm.

'Yeah, in a test tube.'

'So, who came first? You or me?'

'I'm 453.'

'Well, do what your big sister says and untie me.'

'Sister? Yeah, right.' 453 saw Max's bag. 'You're skipping town?'

'Something like that.'

Alec had followed Max from the Space Needle and saw what happened. From where he was hiding he was able to hear everything the girls were talking about. 453, he knew that chick. He knew her pretty well.

'Same old 452.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It's what you do, isn't it? Runaway? Like when it got too rough back at Manticore. I bet you never thought about what they'd do to the rest of us. We were hauled into psy-ops for evaluation for six months, the twins of the escapees. We got the worst of it,' 453 answered bitterly.

So it was not just Alec who hated her for what happened over 10 years ago.

'I'm sorry,' said Max in a whisper.

'I don't want your pity. It's been 10 years since you ruined my life, I'll be damned if I let that happen again. Guess I don't feel so bad about turning you over to White, then. See, he caught me because of you'

'So what's White going to do to you unless you turn me in to him? Is he gonna torture you? Dissect you alive, maybe? What?'

'He's gonna kill my husband and son.'

'You're married?' said Max a little surprised.

'Yeah. I had a perfect little normal life, until White came looking for you.'

'You know, White's not a man who keeps his word.'

'Well, don't have a lot of options, do I?'

Suddenly, 453 heard a noise in the distance and walked away to check if there was somebody else in the building.

Alec approached Max.

'Alec!' Max whispered, surprised and happy to see him.

'Hey, Maxie, how you doing?' he said as he untied her.

'Don't untie her!" said 453, appearing again, trying to confuse Alec, but she did not know that Alec already knew who she was. '494?' Max's clone said.

'453, long time.'

'What are you doing!' said 453, not believing what she was seeing.

'What does it looks like I'm doing?'

'She's an 09'er! Because of her and the rest of her unit, we suffered months and years of torture and now you're helping her!'

When they were little, the clones of the escapees had never hidden how much they hated the group that had escaped. And it was not a mystery what each and every one of them would do to their twins if they ever crossed paths. Alec had let that feeling go a long time ago; maybe because he understood them a little or maybe because he did not care anymore. But from the moment he met Max, he left that feeling behind; he buried it in the deepness of his mind, heart and soul, and never unburied it again.

But apparently, 453 had not forgotten.

Max was up by now, on Alec's side. 'You know her?' Max asked.

'Yeah Max. Haven't you heard anything she just said?'

'You know her from psy-ops,' she said, scowling at him for the way he answered her question.

'Yeah, I know 494 from a long time ago,' said 453.

'And 494 died a long time ago. It's Alec now,' said Alec.

'Alec? I'm Sam now, but I haven't forgotten who I am and where I'm from.'

'Me neither, I'm still trying,' said Alec in a challenging voice.

'Look, Sam,' said Max, 'it's two against one. You don't have any chance of leaving untouched.'

'Yeah,' he said again, this time with a cocky tone in his voice, always so sure of himself. 'Twenty three years of Manticore training,' Alec said pointing at himself, 'and a dirty fighter,' hesaid pointing at Max now, remembering that kick she gave him in the cage fight. 'What are your chances?'

'A couple,' answered Sam as she threw herself over Max, throwing punches, a couple of kicks; some of them hit Max, some did not. She was fighting back but Sam got hold of her. 'Now what are your chances?' said 453.

'A couple,' answered Max, who whirled around and punched her clone in the face, leaving her unconscious on the floor.

'See, dirty fighter,' said Alec.

Breathing heavily, Max looked at Alec. 'I could've used some help, ya know?'

'I knew you could handle it. So what do we do with her?'

'Well, she's a total bitch," and she was interrupted by Alec with a "Figures!"; if looks could kill. That was what Alec had learned after being around Max for so long. 'But she's still my sister, I think, and I'm not gonna let White kill her family.'

'Ok, so what do you want to do?'

'Get Sam out of her clothes.'

'What!'

'I put on her clothes and pretend to be her when White arrives, then you... hit him with something leaving him unconscious, and then we trade him for her husband and son.'

'That's it?'

'Well, if you have any idea I would like to hear it,' she said annoyed.

'No, no. Your plan is just fine.'

They were about to start getting her clone naked when Max realized that Sam was exactly like her, and something about Alec looking at Sam's naked body really disturbed her. He was going to be looking at **her** naked body as well, after all.

'You know what? Go out side and check if White comes.'

'What? Aren't you gonna need help? I mean, I'm kinda an expert on this,' answered Alec with a cheeky grin.

'Pig,' said Max, 'Get the hell out of here. I'll call you when I'm done.'

When she finished the clothe-changing, Max called Alec and the both of them dragged Sam to the post Max had been tied to.

'How did you find me, anyway?' Max asked while Alec was tying her clone to the post.

'Well, Youand Joshweren't at his place, so I went to TC. There, Josh didn't have a clue where you were so I called... OC and she told me you had left. So I thought you would go to the Space Needle before leaving Seattle. And... that's it.'

'Oh... And why did you call OC? I thought you were... you know... mad at me.'

'I was worried about you.' He completed his task and was now up, looking at Max straight into the eyes. Alec hid his hands in the depth of the pockets of his jeans, in an attempt to control his emotions. 'I couldn't find you anywhere and that tingling sensation in the pit of my stomach wouldn't leave.' Max did not understand that part but she did not ask. 'I first thought you had left with Logan but then Cindy told me...' At that moment, Max tensed. He did not dare to look at her. 'Why didn't you say anything?' But before she could answer, Alec beat her. '"Me and Logan are none of your business",' he imitated her. 'I know. I just wish you would've said something.'

'Like you said, it's none of your business, even if there's nothing between Logan and me anymore,' Max snapped all of the sudden.

'Fine. Whatever.' He sighed, irritated by now.

'And why the sudden interest in my love life, anyway?' Max asked.

'You know me, Max. Just making conversation,' he said, avoiding the subject.

They heard a car outside. Alec hid. Max put on Sam's sunglasses and got ready to play the part.

* * *

PS: I thank Emma again because she pointed some mistakes which have already been fixed... :D


	8. Chapter 8: A Lot of Understanding

Hey, sorry it took me so long to post this chappie, the thing is that I was out enjoying of my vacations! I had a great time, but I'm back with a new chapter andquite long, I may say. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I just added a few more things to it. There is a very deep insight of Alec's persona, so I hope you like it... please, review if you wish, I always like to read reader's favorite moments and stuff... so... off you go!

**

* * *

****Chapter 8**

'Where the hell have you been?' said Max, pretending to be 453 in front of White.

'I had a thing,' said White.

'Where's my family?'

'All in good time, 453.'

'Yeah, right.'

Alec appeared from behind White with a heavy metal tube, and hit the man hard in the head.

**

* * *

In TC **

Joshua wasat HQ, worried about Max leaving town and worried about Alec too. He had left two hours ago.

'You guys! What are they doing here?' said Luke, distracting Joshua from his thoughts. They all looked at the TV monitor and Joshua saw Alec and Max with a handcuffed White. 'Hey, Josh, isn't that the X-5 that came to visit you earlier today?'

'Yes, Alec and Max,' said Joshua pointing at Max on the screen. 'She's a friend and X-5 too.'

'Well, not our problem,' said the lizard guy, also known as Mole.

Now pointingat White Joshua said, 'You see this man? He is the one who hunts us down, so it's your problem too.'

* * *

Otto and a second man got out of a car, facing the transgenics with their boss as hostage. 

'Let's see what you're packing,' said Max.

'We're unarmed,' lied Otto, but Max was no fool.

'Oh, come on boys, I'm not a patient lady.' They finally set their guns on the ground. 'All right, let's do this.'

Sam's son and husband got out of the car, not understanding what was going on.

'Is my son still alive?' asked White, before walking towards his men.

'You won't be if you don't start moving,' said Max, exasperated.

Sam's family walked to Max and White walked to his men. Just when he reached the guns laying on the floor, he jump over his handcuffed hands and picked one up.

'Not another step,' White yelled at the man and the boy walking towards the transgenics. 'Nice work Otto,' he said, thinking he had finally won, but he was the bad guy, and bad guys never win, well this time at least. Suddenly, many guns cocked around them all.

'You guys wanna take a shot, be my guest,' said Alec, 'but a lot of people is gonna get hurt.'

White sized up the situation. Many transgenics were aiming at them. They had been overpowered. 'This is not over, 452. And I'll see you soon 494.' Saying this, White and his men left TC.

**

* * *

**

While Sam was comforting her son and trying to explain what had happened to her husband, Max was talking to Joshua.'So I guess you can take care of yourself... and me too,' she told the big guy.

Joshua gave Max a big smile and a big hug and a big kiss on her little forehead.

'Hey Max,' said Alec coming over where Max was after Joshua left. 'I got you something.'

'Whattcha scored?'

'Jacked a SUV from some gangster guys outside a strip club.' He handed Max the car keys.

'Thanks.'

They both saw Sam talking to her husband.

'It's gonna be a long ride to Canada. She has some explaining to do,' said Alec.

'I appreciate this. I really do,' said Max, tearing her eyes off Sam.

'Sure, anything for a friend, or the clone of a friend.'

Max could not help but smile. Ok, so she was a friend, which was not much, or at least not what she wanted to be to Alec, but she could live with that. _Besides, he doesn't look so mad at me anymore._

**

* * *

**

Sam saw Alec talking to Max and after giving her clone some keys, he left the HQ. She followed him outside after asking her husband to wait a moment. She found 494 sitting on a motorcycle.

'Alec,' she said.

'Max. Do you need anything else?'

453 pointed at herself and said: 'Sam.'

'Oh, sorry.'

'That's ok,' she said, standing near him, looking at him closely; analyzing him.

'You need anything?' Alec asked again. He could feel Sam's stare piercing him, and that made him feel uncomfortable, though he did not show it.

'Yeah, I wanted to ask you something,' Sam answered.

'Shoot.'

'You're sure about this? She's an '09er, 4... Alec. They're not trust worthy.'

'You don't know them, you don't know her,' said Alec pointing into the building in front of them, where Max was in, feeling insulted on Max's behalf. 'And you'll never will. Max, she saved my ass too many times, no matter what stupid thing I did. I fucked up her life a couple of times too, and still she keeps saving me. Why shouldn't I trust her?'

'You shouldn't because they left. They never looked back or came for us.'

'Sam, they didn't even know they had clones. Hell, we didn't even know it either until they took us to psy-ops and told us.' He paused and sighed. He had learnt to fathom the 09ers a while ago, and he could not conceive how someone like Sam, who had more than she could possibly ask for or deserve, did not even try to understand them. 'They just ran. They did what we all wanted to do but never dared,' he finally said and went beck inside, leaving Sam with her thoughts.

**

* * *

**

Max finally found Sam and hand her the keys.

'You're all set.'

'If you're expecting a thank you, forget about it. None of this would've happen if it weren't for you,' said Sam.

'You're right.' Max was not about to fight her for she knew Sam was right. It might sound egotistical but it always came down to her. For some reason, everyone who was connected to her in some way always got in the crossfire.

Alec, who was near the twins and heard their little conversation, said to Sam: 'Ya know, if Manticore hadn't gone down, you wouldn't even be with them. You know who took it down.' He pointed at Max with his eyes and walked away.

Sam stared at Max for a moment taking in that little piece of information Alec had just provided her with. She knew she might regret this in the future, but for a moment she decided to let go all her grudges against 452 for she was proud of her.

'Not bad. Not bad at all,' said Sam after a moment, and then she added, after a pause, 'sis.'

Max smile. Sis was not so bad, she could live with that.

'Take care. And take care of that little boy of yours and your husband,' said Max.

'You too. And take care of Alec. He's really stuck on you.'

After that, Sam left Max's life to try and start a new one, again, with the people she loved.

**

* * *

**

Max saw Alec outside, on his bike. He was not about to leave, he was just there sitting, thinking.

'Hey.'

'Max, right?' asked Alec, just incase she was Sam again. Max laughed at how strange this whole evening had been. It was so weird that a person who saw her almost every day asked her if she really was Max. It was something taken out of the Twilight Zone.

'Yeah. What are you doing here?'

'Uhm, nothing, just thinking.'

'´Bout?'

'´Bout something Sam said.'

'Well, she said a lot of things before leaving.'

'She left already?'

'Yeah, about ten minutes ago... so you were thinking ´bout what she said,' Max reminded Alec.

Max moved closer to where Alec was. She was standing in front of him, waiting for him to tell her his every thought. She looked so beautiful under the moon light. It was cold; then again, X5s did not feel much cold, but still Max and Alec were wearing their leather jackets. Max's Ninja, which had one tire in a very bad shape, destroyed, actually, was parked next to Alec's, so she went over her baby and sat on it, one leg in each side.

Alec was not the type of person who just spoke his mind. For many people, it might seem like he did, but he never spoke his mind when it came to feelings, emotions, things he could not control.

'If I hadn't stuck around you all this time, I would still hate you,' said Alec after a while. 'It's nothing personal, you know? It was the only way we had to deal with what they had done to us. You guys left, and even we didn't admit it back then, we were jealous. I mean, you were out there, living the dream, and we were stuck in Manticore, paying for something that we didn't do.'

'You know, we weren't exactly living the dream,' Max started explaining. 'We had nowhere to go, we didn't understand anything, and we were completely alone. Me, at least. And the pulse didn't help much either. I felt like I was in enemy territory without any backup. I remember hiding in a warehouse for 5 days until I decided I had to get out of there and find some food. So when I went out, I pretended to be a normal kid, you know? And then I saw the sunrise, as cheesy as it may sound,' Alec smiled, 'for the first time since I got out of Manticore and I knew I was gonna be ok.' Max paused. 'So I kept pretending.' A flashback of many moments with Logan went through her head. 'And I just keep pretending,' she finished in a whisper, which Alec obviously heard.

He understood Max perfectly. He had pretended to be the perfect, loyal soldier to Manticore once. He had pretended to be a piano instructor, and fell in love with this wonderful girl who had everything he had always dreamt of, but never dared to admit. And he kept pretending. Pretending to be all right in front of his friends, when all he wanted to do was to cut his wrists and die, because the memories of all the things he had done and of his dead love, Rachel, knowing that it was his fault she was dead, always made him feel weak in some way. And once again, he pretended to be Max's friend, when he knew he could not be like that with her. It would make him suffer. But he pretended.

'I was wondering...' said Max, cutting Alec's train of thoughts.

'What were you thinking about?' he said looking at her, sitting on her Ninja.

'I was wondering if Manticore cooked up more of us... ´cause one is plenty. You know?'

'Yeah,' said the X5 with a sad tone on his voice.

He had never met his clone, his twin brother as he liked to call him. The existance of clonesalways made him feel weird. After all, clones are exactly the same person,they have the exact genetic information, and that freaked him out; to think that he was actually a clone. If this was true, then he was some kind of backup. A copy. He was Ben incase 493 died. He was the youngest after all. 493 came first, so he was the real one, and 494 was a 'just in case'. And if this was true, then he was Max's brother and then... _You have to stop this, you're gonna end up psychotic!_ This kind of thoughts always gave him headaches.

Just like the thoughts about who he really was. He had told Sam 494 was dead, but was this true? No. Not really. He had just intended to sound rebellious against all their teachings and believes back at Manticore. He had just wanted 453 to think he was over that hell and that he had moved on to the kind of self-satisfaction he had been craving for all his life. But truth was he was still 494. He was still a soldier and an assassin if the situation called for it. But, whether 494 liked it or not, he was also Alec. He had been Alec, he realized a little after the destruction of Manticore, long before he even realized it. He knew Alec had come to life when Rachel died, while he was at Psy-ops. He created Alec then so he would never forget about her or the things he had done. It was too easy to live if he just forgot about those things. He knew he deserved to remember all the faces he had killed, all they cries he had heard. Just everything. He had learnt to lie to the people who had taught him to lie, and they bought all his bullshit about Loyalty, Duty and all that crap they brain washed their "kids" with. Alec decided who to be loyal to, now. He was the one who called the shots, and that is all he cared. No more following orders. No more blank stares. No more "yes, sir!". No more.

'What time is it?' Max asked, again cutting his train of thoughts. She was a damn expert on that lately. Alec looked at his watch. It read "5.07 am"

'5.10 in the morning. Pretty late. I gotta go to work in three hours.'

'Well, why go to sleep if you're gonna be up in two hours? Wanna have breakfast?' she asked.

Alec stared at her in surprise. 'Aren't ya leaving town?'

'Nah, I've got some things to take care of.'

Alec was not even going to ask what those things were; right now, he did not care.

'I know this place that's open 24/7. It's like those 1950s diners. I'm not promising any decent coffee and waffles but at least the food's edible,' said Max.

Alec smile at her. He was happy. She was staying, she wanted to have breakfast with him, but most importantly, she wanted to be with him right now.

'Ok,' he said. 'Jump on.' Just then, before she sat behind him, he remembered the real reason he had gone after her that day. 'Max... I'm really sorry ´bout what I said to you the other day. I really didn't mean it,' said Alec almost in a whisper. Max stared at him without saying anything. Alec could not even look at her. He seemed to be ashamed of what he had said when he had been absolutely right. He could have chosen a different way of expressing his thoughts, Max thought, but he had been right nevertheless. She was actually enjoying this. She never thought of Alec as the kind of guy whoever regretted his actions, but apparently he could feel guilt or ashamed. And for some reason, that made him more human in her eyes. Then, Max smile.

She hopped behind him and put her arms around him so she would not fall off the bike, and said: 'Apology accepted.'

After breakfast, Max and Alec went to Jam Pony.When they arrived, they saw that the entire staff of JP was watching TV, White  
was on and he was proclaiming that the transgenics were dangerous. Max went over the TV and turned it off.

'Hey!' said Normal.

'Bip bip bip, people. C'mon, these packages aren't gonna deliver themselves.'

Normal and Sketchy looked at her for a minute, and then Normal, coming back to reality, said: 'You heard her. Get back to work.'

The rest of the staff went to mind their own business or to deliver packages. Normal and Sketchy were staring at her again.

'What? You got something to say?'

'Not me. Nope,' answered Normal.

'No. It's all good,' said Sketch. And then, they walked away.

Original Cindy saw her girl, and hugged her.

'Miss me?' asked Max

'Of course, boo. But I knew our Golden Boy would get ya back,' said OC looking at Alec and grinning at him. Even though nobody said anything, Alec and OC knew their little fights were over and a friend-ship had born.

* * *

Edit: Thank you Alana84! 


	9. Chapter 9: the Love Bug

Hey, I'm back, I hope you guys like this chapter, itis sort of weird, sort of sweet, maybe a little out of character (Alec specially), but I like it, and you may even think of it as character development... I don't know, you are the judges. So, there's something that's been bugging me and I hope you guys can help me... because I only got 1 review for the last chapter (thank you Calistra! my faithful reader and reviewer!) so, I'm starting to think not too many people are reading this. I know this is not about the reviews, but is more about the feedback and... ok, to know if someone out there is ACTUALLY reading this story. And it sort of bothers me because I feel that maybe I am wasting my time. So, as a favor to me... could you at least leave on review now so I know there're people reading this story? pretty please? Ok, enough begging! read this chapter, and, as I always say, review if you wish to do so... although in this case I BEG YOU TO PLEEEAAASE REVIEW this chapter!

**

* * *

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**Chapter 9**

OC entered Jam Pony without Max as usual.

'Normal,' said OC approaching her boss, 'my girl ain´t gonna come today.'

'Oh! Really? What now?'

'She threw up the whole damn night. The girl couldn't stop!'

'Look, I'm getting tire of this excuses your little friend always makes up.'

'Normal, I'm serious. I couldn't get her out of the friggin' toilet.'

'Fine, fine, what ever. I'm just warning you two. Just tell her to bring a note from the doctor.'

'Whatever.'

Cindy went over her locker. Alec entered Jam Pony and approached the lockers, where OC was getting her things ready.

'Hey, lad-' he stopped when he saw there was only **one** lady. 'OC.'

'Hey, blondie.'

'Where's Max?' he asked.

'She's sick.'

'Oh! What, she felt like not coming to work today?'

'No, she's sick,' OC repeated again, emphasizing the last word.

'Come on, Cindy, is not like I'm Normal's spy, or something. You can tell me the true.'

'Alec, I'm telling ya the truth here, boy,' said OC in a very serious tone. 'My girl's been throwing up non stop, all night long.'

'What? No, that's impossible. We... you know... don't get sick,' whispered Alec trying to avoid the words 'we' and 'transgenics' in the same sentence.

'I know, that's why I was so worried. Maybe it's just a simple and normal bug that's on the air, ya know? She's been under a lot of stress lately. She doesn't sleep at all, she hasn't been eating that much either and maybe all that caught up with her.'

'I don't know, Cindy, I mean, it's not easy for a... you know, to get sick.'

'I know. Anyway, I gotta go and do some work, or Normal is gonna be on my ass until I quit. I'll go to check on Maxie at launch time.'

'Ok, see ya,' said Alec as OC left Jam Pony with a couple of packages and giving Normal a nasty look before leaving.

It was weird. An X-5 cannot get sick; he had never been sick in his life. Maybe it was an engineer virus just like the one Manticore put on Max to kill Logan; maybe the virus had actually mutated when she got the cure and it was affecting her now; or maybe, OC was just right. X-5s are the best results of cloning research and genetically empowered human hybrids, but they were not indestructible.

Alec took a package, to Sector 5 (duh!), and delivered it quickly. Then, he decided to pay a visit to Max. It was only 9.10 am, and Cindy was going to be there at 1pm give or take, so Max could use some company.

* * *

Alec entered Max's building with his bike and when he arrived at her door, he knocked. There was no answer, so he opened it. Max was nowhere to be seen. He left his bike near the door, and stepped closer to her room. 'Max?' he said in a whisper, afraid she might be sleeping. Suddenly, a messy long brown hair stuck out of the bathroom door.

'Alec?' said Max, who was sitting on the bathroom floor, with her around the toilet seat.

'Hey, you're really sick,' said Alec, tenderly.

'Yeah—' but she could not finish the sentence. Alec rush up to her, to hold her while she threw up.

When she finished, Alec said: 'You look like shit.'

'Gee, thanks. You're here to cheer me up? I **FEEL** like shit.' With that said, she started throwing up again.

'It's ok. I'm here, don't worry,' whispered Alec on her ear, while he hold her hair.

When Max finally finished, 'You got fever?' he asked.

'I don't know, but I feel really hot,' she said.

'Well, Max you **are** hot,' Alec answered with his cocky smile, trying light up her mood. Always with his stupid Smart-aleck remarks. Max hit him on the shoulder, and even though she was weak, Alec really felt that.

'Ouch! I thought you were sick!'

'Yeah, well, I thought you were here to say stupid things while I'm feeling like shit and get your ass kicked, right? Or am I misunderstanding something?' Yeap, she was sick, but still a bitch.

'You know, you're bitchier when you don't feel so good.'

'Thank you.'

'Ok, let's see if you got fever,' he said and placed his lips over her forehead. 'No, you don't have fever. Why don't you have a cold shower, while I prepare you something to eat?'

'Really? Ya know how to cook?' a flabbergast Max asked.

'Max, if you want me to leave--'

'No. I'm sorry. I'm just surprised--'

'Oh! I didn't hear that, can you repeat it again?'

'No, I'm not. You might better go, because I ain't gonna tell you "I'm sorry" again.'

'You're welcome,' said Alec and left the bathroom with a satisfactory smile on his face. Max was on the cold floor rolling her eyes, realizing that she had said 'I'm sorry' again. _Damn!_ Being sick made her stupid and slow. Not a good combination when Alec was around. But still, Max was surprised by Alec's attitude. He had come all the way to her apartment to take care of her. No one had ever spoiled her this much, except for Cindy, but she did not count, she was a friend. And maybe Logan; but she would never be able to compare the two men. They were as different as day and night.

Max got up from the floor, turned the water on, took off her sweaty clothes and entered the shower. The water was really cold. When it first touched her bare hot skin, she hissed and her muscles contracted for a moment but then she got used to it and cleaned her body from the sweat and the smell of her throwing up.

From the shower, Max could hear Alec looking like crazy something to eat in her apartment. But she knew he was not going to find anything. She smiled at that thought.

So he gave up. There was nothing, the place was empty. _What the hell do they eat!_ Then he heard Max turning off the water.

Minutes later she was out of the bathroom, looking at him with a broad smile.

'What?' he asked her.

'You didn't find much, didnja?'

'Ooh, so you knew there wasn't anything to eat, ah?'

'Obviously, who do you think lives here?'

'Yeah, ok.'

She started walking to her room, when, suddenly, she felt as if her legs had gotten disconnected from the rest of her body and she could not move them. Everything was going into circles. It felt as if the world had stopped and she was still moving along with the Earth's natural movement. Finally, her body gave in, her legs could not hold her anymore, and Max fell. The fall took forever when it only took Alec a second to see her fall and run to catch her.

'You're ok?' asked Alec really worried.

'Yeah... I just felt a little dizzy,' said Max, looking at those sweet and worried hazel-green eyes. She loved the way Alec was holding her. His arms were all around her, protecting her. Then he held her in a way he could carry her to her room, with one arm under her back and the other holding her legs. When Max realized this, and the fact that she was only wearing a wet towel around her naked body, she started moving to get off of his grip. She did not want him to think she was some kind of Damsel in Distress, because she was not such a thing.

'I can do it myself,' she snapped, leaving Alec's secure arms, only to stood up and fell again to be caught by Alec... again.

'Look, Max,' he said holding her again like before. 'I know you ain't some pretty flower who needs to be taken care of, ok? And I also know you could kick my ass any time, sick or not. So don't worry. Me holding you like this won't do anything to your tough-chick reputation.'

'You swear you won't tell anyone?'

'I swear.'

Alec placed Max over her bed.

'Look, I think I better call Logan, he might know what's going on with you. Maybe his scientist guy knows something,' he said.

'Log- Logan! No!' said Max. The last thing she needed right now was Alec and Logan alone talking about her. It would only cause problems and it also meant that Alec would find out the lie she fed Logan. 'I mean, you don't have to. I can do it. Just hand me the phone,' she said, pointing at the phone on a near by table.

He fetched it for her.

Max dialed Logan's number, but no one answered, so she left him a message. 'Logan, it's me. I need you to call me ASAP. I'll explain you then.' After hanging up, she said to Alec: 'He wasn't home.'

'Ok.' At that moment, alec let himself get caught by the moment. He admired her big brown eyes, her wet, dark curls all over her cinnamon shoulders. And without thinking, he moved a wet curl from her face. By the time he realized what he had done, all he could do was retreat his hand as fast as possible and act as if nothing had happened. "What d'you say if I stop by somewhere to buy some food?"

Alec was not the only one who got lost in reverie. When he asked her that question, her dream world came into a crashing stop and felt a bit ashamed, though she tried her best not to show it.

'Ok,' she said in a whisper. Then, remembering something, she added: 'Aren't you supposed to go to Jam Pony?'

'Umh, it's ok. I'll call Normal and make something up.'

'Ok,' she said again, still a bit disoriented for what had just happened.

'Ok,' he repeated as well. 'And, I'm gonna head over to Logan's to see if he's back.'

She snapped again from her day-dreaming, and said: 'No, why would you do that? Just—I'll call him again in 10 minutes.'

'I really don't mind,' he said, finding Max's sudden behavior quite strange.

'I just… I wanna handle this with Logan myself… he might…' she said trying to come up with a believable lie, 'think I'm trying to avoid him… the whole break up thing… yeah.'

'Ok,' he finally agreed.

* * *

Even if Max asked him not to do it, he stopped by at Logan's.

Disaster. That's what he found in the old man's apartment. A disaster. And Logan was not there. Alec got his cell phone out of his jacket and dialed Logan's cell phone number. But he did not pick it up, the answer machine did.

'Hello, you've reached Logan Cale's cell phone, please leave a message after the bip.'

_Too long_. Alec thought. His answer machine only said: "Hey, Alec here, leave a message." _Such a snob_.

BIP.

'Hey Logan, it's me, Alec. Where the hell are you man? Call me, we're really worry ´bout ya," he hung up after that.

Then, Alec thought about checking the house, to see if he could find any clues. There were definitely signs of struggle. He reached Logan's room, and find what it seamed like a ray of light, a little hope that Logan may be ok. His empty closet. That meant that Logan had left. Also, there was some equipment missing and finally, Bessie was not in the building's garage.

* * *

Alec arrived at Max's place at 10.30, and he found her sleeping peacefully on her bed with a clean black tank top and a pair of sleeping black shorts.

She had not slept that much when she woke up. A pleasant smell that aroused her senses. She went over the kitchen and found Alec cutting some vegetables.

'What're you cooking?'

'Hey, Maxie. I hope you like it. I made a chicken soup, with some vegetables and stuff. You like chicken, right?'

'Of course I do, I'm part cat, aren't I?'

Alec laughed. 'Yes, you are, we all are.' He waited a moment, and then decided to let Max know he had been over Logan's. 'So… I went to Logan's place.'

She immediately tensed. 'You did? Why? I told you not to go!' she snapped.

'I know, but I just wanted to make sure he wasn't avoiding you, or something.'

'So?' she asked, not sure what had happened over at her ex's, because Alec looked quieter than usual, and seemed to be struggling with his own words.

Alec was not sure if he should tell Max what he found in the old man's apartment, and, well, what he had not found, which was Logan.

'Uhm... Logan wasn't home,' he simply said, not really lying, but not really telling the truth either.

'Oh,' she said, as her body relaxed again. 'Ok. Well, we'll call him later.'

_We? Wow!_

* * *

They ate the soup, which Max thought was delicious, and as Alec was cleaning the dishes, Max went straight to bed, where she would be warmer, but ten minutes later she was throwing up Alec's chicken soup in the toilet.

* * *


	10. Chapter 10: The Inexistent Boyfriend

I know it took me some time to post this, but on my defense, I've been VERY busy! Anyway, I think the whole begging you guys to review on the previews chapter did not really work… I only got 3 of them… So, I've decided that I don't give a shit. And I'll be posting the story for ONLY THOSE THREE PEOPLE! Well, hope you like it…

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**Chapter 10**

It was 12.15 pm. Cindy had not come yet. And Max had finally stopped throwing up and fallen asleep.

Alec watched her sleep from the door-frame of her bedroom, her rhythmic breathing hypnotizing him. He was worried; worried about Max and this mysterious sickness she had, and worried about Logan. He had gone God knows where, or maybe that was what the people who destroyed Logan's place wanted him to think.

Cindy opened the door from her apartment and Alec moved himself to the living-room.

'Alec?' she said, a little taken aback by the boy's presence on her apartment.

'Hey, OC.'

'Whatcha doing here, boy?'

'I just stopped by to check on Max.'

'Aha,' she said, raising her eyebrow, like she always did when she was suspicious about something. Cindy saw the wet dishes in the sink while she left the groceries in the kitchen counter, and the smell of chicken in the entire place gave him away. 'So, how's my girl?'

'She's... ok. She finally managed to fell asleep.'

'Did she eat something?' Cindy asked him, already knowing what happened. Obviously, Alec had not found a thing in their apartment, so, as such a gentleman as he was, he went over the store and bought a nice chicken for the sick girl... _He's such a sucker for Max!_

'Yeah... I managed to make her something. But she threw it up ten minutes later,' he answered. He felt a bit awkward about what he had done for Max, especially when he said it out loud. Had he really done that? For a girl? For Max, of all girls? Was he turning into a goody two-shoes like Logan!

Cindy walked over Max's room as Alec talked; then, she went back to the kitchen and started putting the groceries in the fridge.

Alec sat on the bench and he made a decision. He was about to tell Cindy what he had found at Logan's place, when his phone rang.

'Alec here,' said the X5.

'Hey, Alec. It's Logan.'

'Logan! Where are you! You ok!' said Alec, his preoccupation reaching the surface.

'Yeah, I'm fine. I'm outside Seattle, with some friends,' Logan answered.

Even though he was never going to admit it, Alec was happy to hear Logan was ok. He, then, stood up and went over the living room, so he would be able to talk to Logan without OC hearing.

'What the hell happen to your pent-house?' Alec asked, almost in a whisper.

'White happened. I was doing an Eyes Only broad cast and somehow he picked up my trail. Anyway, I managed to get out before he got there.'

For some reason, Alec felt some tension coming from Logan; but he attributed that to what had happened to the older man and his home. Though, he could not have been more wrong.

'So, you're ok?'

'Yeap, I'm fine.'

'Ok, good. Now... I've got to talk to you ´bout Max.'

'Look Alec,' Logan interrupted him, 'she already told me, so I don't need your explanation.'

'Max talked to you? When?' Alec asked Logan. When had Max talked to Logan? Maybe when he left to get the groceries? But she did not mention anything. 'What did she say to you?'

'Well, she pretty much said it all. You and her are together now and, I guess, I'm ok with that. It just took me by surprise. I mean, I never gave up on us. But I guess that with everything that's been happening in the world she might need someone like her, someone who understands her, who feels like she feels.'

Alec was not really sure he was understanding the words coming out of Logan's mouth. Was he dating Max and had not noticed it! He was frowning so hard and his eyes were so wide open from the confusion and shock that Cindy actually worried for the boy.

'Alec? You ok, boo?' she asked. Alec waved his hand to her, saying he was fine.

When Logan was done with his little Boy Scout speech, all Alec managed to say was: 'What!'

'What? Isn't it truth?' said Logan, a glimpse of hope in his voice.

'Look Logan, this is not ´bout... that. Max's sick. Really sick. And I don't know what to do. I don't want to go to your scientist guy again, because after all, that's where White got us; and I'm not sure whether I should take her to Dr. Carr or not.'

'She's sick? What are the symptoms?'

'Well, she doesn't have any fever, but she's been throwing up since last night. And she seems pretty tired. She sleeps whenever she's not throwing up.'

'Uhm, maybe is a side effect of the cure. Maybe her organism is getting rid of the virus. I'll check on it.'

'Ok.'

'Is that all?' asked Logan.

Alec was not sure what to do. Should he tell the older guy that what Max had said was a lie, or should he wait to talk to Max about this, a conversation from which, he knew, nothing good was going to come out.

'Yeah,' said Alec at the end, 'that's all. Just call if you find anything.'

Both men hung up the phones.

Alec looked at OC who was staring at him.

'I'm gonna check on Josh over Terminal City and I'll came afterwards. Max said she was gonna swing by TC today get some stuff from one of the guys, so… Maybe I should go.'

'Ok, but don't ya have to get back to Jam Pony?'

'No, it's alright. Normal gave me the day off.'

'You lucky white boy! Cindy said under her breath. 'So, what did Logan say?'

'He'll check on it,' he answered, succeeding in hiding his sarcasm.

'That's all?' said OC with one of her faces. She knew Logan has said something else; something that had upset Alec.

'Yeap,' he simply answered.

'Ok,' she said understanding that the boy was not going to tell her jack. 'Then I'll see ya after work, k?'

'Yeah, I'll be here,' he said, heading towards the door.

'K, see ya,' told Cindy, watching the guy putting on his leather jacket and getting his bike as he moved through the door. _He's such a sucker for the girl!_ she thought again.

* * *

**AT TERMINAL CITY**

'Hey Josh!' said Alec as he entered the Head Quarters of the transgenic community.

'Alec, how are you?' said Joshua, putting an arm around Alec.

'I'm fine, buddy. Max is the one who's not feeling too good.'

'Why, what happened to Little Fella?'

'Well, she's been a little sick. But she'll be fine. Don't worry,' he lied to the Dog-man. Alec was pretty worried about the whole thing, and he did not want Joshua to worry about Max; at least, no yet.

From behind Alec and Joshua, a handsome American Italian young man approached the transgenics.

'494,' said the man with a playful voice.

Alec turned around to find an old friend.

'511!'

They gave each other a big hug. It seamed to Joshua that both men had a long history together; a long friend-ship that had started in Manticore.

'How are you?' said 511, leaving their manly hug.

'Great! You know, surviving... It's Alec now, by the way.'

'Biggs,' the man said.

'So, what are you doing in Seattle?' asked Alec. 'I never thought I would see you here.'

'Well, like every other X series here, I heard Seattle is now transgenic Central, and… I don't know. I was starting to feel a bit lonely,' said Biggs, winking at Alec. 494 only smiled. 'So, how come **you** ended up here? No offence, but you're the last person I expected to find here; well, other than me.'

'Well,' said Alec, thinking how he had ended up there. 'I owed someone a favor. And then I just...' he said, not sure exactly how to define what had happened to him.

Why had he stayed? It was something he would have never done. He had planned on going to Canada, getting as far away from Manticore and the US Government as possible. But one thing led to another and he never managed to do that. A tinny voice in the back of his head said: _Max_, and at that moment he wished he would be able to beat the crap out of himself. Max was one of the few people he truly respected and admire in this world, though he would never admit that out loud, but he hated what that woman was doing to him.

'So,' said Alec, 'did you find a place to crash yet?'

Biggs sighed. 'No, Terminal City it's pretty much my home right now. I'm still trying to figure out what to do next. A job, I suppose. The whole "American Dream". I mean, I can't keep on pick pocketing people… I can't even afford a tv!'

Alec laughed. 'Hey, I work on a bike messenger place. I think I can score you a job over there.'

'Really?'

'Yeah, the boss loves me. And you can crash at my place. It's big, has a TV and an extra room.'

'Are you honestly sure ´bout this? Because you had me at "TV".'

Alec laughed again, 'Yeah, man, of course. I could never leave an old friend in the cold streets of Seattle.'

'Cool, man.'

Joshua, who was still standing next to them, cleared his throat, hoping Alec would introduce him to his friend.

'Oh, hey,' said Alec looking at Joshua, 'this is my old friend Biggs. Biggs,' he said now looking at the handsome X5, 'this is my man, Josh.'

They shook hands. Biggs still looked like he had not gotten used to Transhumans, but he saw how close Alec and the dog-man were, so he made a little effort not to show his awkwardness.

'Nice meeting you, Josh.'

'Me too,' said the big fella with a big smile.

'Hey, Alec!' said Dix from far up the control section of HQ.

'Hey, Dix. What's up?'

'Max coming?' the little man asked.

'No, she's not. Why?'

'Well, Mole has something for her. She said she would pick it up today.'

'Oh, ok. I'll give it to her.'

'Perfect. I think Mole's outside.'

'Ok, I'll go find him,' he said to Dix, and then he turned to Biggs, 'I'm gonna find Mole and then I'll take you to your new home, k?' He then turned to the dog-man, 'Josh, I'll see you later, ok? Take care.'

'Tell Max to get better.'

'I will, big fella.'

* * *

Alec saw Mole right away, and approached him. Mole was talking to some Transhumans. 

'Hey Mole. Dix told me you've got something for Max.'

'Hey Alec. Yeah, I've got a supply list,' said the lizard-guy with his cigar on his mouth, taking a piece of paper from his jacket's pocket. 'Why?'

A supply list. _Wow, she's really into this. _Something hit Alec at that moment. She was really taking care of these guys. And, again, she was dragging him into the mess. Though, maybe, he did not mind so much anymore.

'Max's not coming. I'll give it to her,' Alec answered.

Alec took it and read it silently, but then he looked up from the piece of paper and gave Mole a look.

'Cigars?' he said.

'What?' asked Mole with an innocent look on his face.

'You think cigars are more important than food, or medical kits!'

Alec could not believe it. Mole had written: 1. Cigars; 2. Food; 3. Medical supplies; 4. Sheets; 5. Fuel; 6. Clothes...

'Well, since Manticore went down, I can't live without them.'

'You know those things will kill you, right?'

'Yeah. But, what the hell! Outside there are millions of people who want to see me dead. At least cigars give me some placer while they do it.'

Alec shrugged and smiled. 'What ever, I'll see what we can do about this. Later.'

After leaving Mole, Alec left Terminal City with Biggs.

They arrived at Alec's place and he showed Biggs the extra room, and then the rest of the apartment, which was not that big but it would do, and the TV.

'Ok, I gotta go now. Got some things to do. You get comfortable and... welcome to your new home.'

'Thanks, man,' said Biggs as he put down a small bag, 'Want me to prepare dinner or something?'

'You know how to cook?' asked Alec, trying not to sound like Max when she showed her surprise at the knowledge that he could, actually, cook.

'Not really,' said the other man with a sly smile.

Alec smiled. 'That's ok, I'll bring something. Chinese's ok?'

'Sure.'

'Ok, see ya later.'

* * *

20 minutes later Alec was in Max's place again. Cindy had not left yet, though she was getting ready to do it. 

'Hey, boo,' greeted OC.

'Hey,' said the boy, leaving his bike by the door. 'How's Max?'

'Actually, she's much better now. She's up and kicking.'

'Where's she?'

'She's taking a shower.'

'Ok,' said Alec.

'How's Doggy-Dog?' Cindy asked as she put on her jacket.

'He's ok. You're leaving already?'

'Yeah. Lunch break's over. Bye Boo!' she yelled at Max.

'Bye OC!' they heard from the bathroom.

The minute Cindy left the apartment, the girls´ phone rang. Alec was not sure if he should pick it up, but Max was in the bathroom and OC had just left, and it might be an important call, so... he answered.

'Hello.'

'Alec?' said a surprised Logan from the other side of the line.

Since Max had broken up with him, claming she was with Alec, Logan had been wishing or, better say, hoping that he would not have to cross paths with Alec since he was the reason why he and Max had ended their relation-ship. But that seamed just impossible lately. He had also been hoping or, better say, wishing that Max had only said she was with the X5 to protect him, but Alec had swept all his doubts away. Alec had been with Max last night when she got sick (_doing God knows what..._) and every time he called either Max or Alec, the other one was there too (_doing God knows what..._).

'How's Max?' said the older man quickly before Alec could notice his initial surprise when he heard the X5 on Max's phone. But of course Alec had noted it.

'I think she's better. She's up now.'

'Ok, good. I talked to Dr. Walt. The scientist who found the cure for the virus. Anyway, he told me exactly what I told you it might be. Her body system is just getting rid of the virus, but she'll be completely fine by tomorrow.'

'Great,' said Alec, relieved. Then an uncomfortable silence fell between both men. Tension could have been cut with a knife.

'Well, tell Max I said hi,' said Logan, cutting the awkward silence.

'Sure. I'll tell her,' said Alec.

That being said, both of them hung up.

Right then, he heard Max talking.

'Hey, you're back,' she said, as she left the bathroom already dressed on her tight brown jeans and a black tank top.

'Yeah,' he said a bit awkwardly. _Ok, ask her NOW what the hell is going on!_

'Hey, now that I finally, definitely, stopped throwing up, I'm kinda hungry. Is there anything left of your chicken soup? asked Max, opening the fridge.

'What? Uhm... I don't know.'

Max thought there was something bugging Alec.

'You ok?' she asked.

He seemed to consider this. Then he said: 'Max, we gotta talk.'

* * *

EDIT: Thank you Lakergirl08 for bringing to my attention that Biggs assignation is 511. I wasn't aware of that!


	11. Chapter 11: Think, Idiot!

Hey! Well, first of, I would like to thank my reviewers… THANK YOU! kiwilass, tori49476, lakergirl08, a7xvampire and calistra Thank you! Anyway, hope you like it, lot of angst…thare'sa small cliff hanger at the end… does that make me evil?

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_What kind of lame excuse is that? _The virus thing wasn't going anywhere and I couldn't afford any more accidents,thought Alec, mocking at her stupid excuse. _Yeah, right. Why then, in all Heaven's sakes, did she have to drag **me**__ into it? That's right... because she didn't give a shit about me and now, I have to put up with the fact that Logan hates me for stealing his girl._

_At least, now I understand why Logan has been acting so weird ´round me. But still! What Max did... I'm the bad guy now,_ he thought in shock, w_ell, I'm always the bad guy round Max..._

After that little talk he had with Max, he left her apartment very pissed. Max was feeling much better so he did not feel guilty about leaving her all alone in there.

Logan had already said it all, but still, hearing Max's excuses for using him like some kind of dickhead who did not have feelings, had been hard.

Alec ended up in Terminal City again. Maybe if he helped with something, he would forget about Max for a while. The problem was that Joshua was in Terminal City too and, as I said before, the Big Fella had a way to see right through him. And that is exactly what he did.

'Hey, Alec.'

'Hey, Josh,' said Alec as he saw the big dog man on the street, near the HQ.

'How's Little Fella?'

'She's just... fine,' said Alec, trying to hide his scorn, but never succeeding in front of Josh.

'What happened?' asked Joshua, knowing something had happened with Max.

'Nothing happened, Josh,' the X5 answered, as he was about to enter the HQ, avoiding Joshua's question. But the big guy stopped the X5's track as he placed his big hand over Alec's chest.

'Alec upset with Little Fella,' simply said Josh.

Alec looked up at his tall, very tall friend, into those honest baby-blue eyes.

'How do you do that?' he asked dead serious.

Joshua stared at the X5 in the eyes with deep confusion.

'What does Joshua do?'

Alec smiled.

'That. You always know what's wrong with me.'

Joshua was not sure what to answer. He did not know how he knew it, he just did. The big Dog-man just shrugged.

'Come on,' said Alec putting his hand over the transhuman's shoulder, 'I'll tell you what happened.'

* * *

_He didn't even yell at me. He just looked at me, picked his jacket and left the apartment, never saying a word._

_And that is what most worries me. Alec's not the kind of guy who hardly talks. I'm used to hear him yap all the freaking time and, even though I used to hate that (still do, sometimes… he can really tick me off), it's really the only way we have to know if he's ok or not. If he's all quiet, Headcliff-like (as Cindy would say), we know there's something wrong with him. _

_Alec usually tells me what's on his mind… well most of the time, at least. _A flashback of their conversation that night at Crash when he had supposedly 'blew' his shot with Asha. He had definitely shown his anger at her; his annoyance, at the fact that Max would never realize how dangerous her closeness to Logan, or other ordinary for that matter, was. _He's never afraid to tell me what he is thinking about. _If she only knew… _To tell the truth, his silence is what annoys me right now… How could he just leave like this! That Jerk! He has all rights to be mad at me... but he could at least tell me he's mad at me! Besides, he should understand why I did what I did! He's always so egocentric. It's always about him!_

She was trying to come up with an excuse to be mad at him for leaving before she could explain exactly what had happened, and why she had done it. And maybe, just maybe, if she was brave enough and not so thick headed, she would even have been able to apologize.

She had been on her apartment, walking from her bedroom to the living-room, from the living-room to the kitchen, from the kitchen to the bathroom, from the bathroom to her room again. As small as her apartment already was, she was feeling like the walls were closing in on her and the place was getting smaller and smaller. She needed to walk. She needed to think. But she was not able to neither in her humble apartment.

Max was annoyed, sad and bored, so she picked her bike's keys and left in the hope that by riding through the streets of Seattle, she would find some answers.

After a few hours after leaving her place, the sun had set and night had fallen on Seattle. OC was probably at Crash, so she headed that way. Max had been sure to leave her friend a note letting her know she was fine and that she would meet her at Crash later that day.

She walked through the doors of the place. Cindy waved her from the table. She was alone, no Sketchy, no Logan in the way this time. Max slumped on the chair, and OC could sense something was wrong.

'What happened?' Cindy asked.

'Alec found out what I told Logan ´bout him and me,' Max answered, as she laid both hands, one over the other like fists, over the table and placed her chin over them.

Cindy, not as shock as she should have been, said: 'What did he say?'

* * *

'She used me! She totally used me!' 

Joshua did not seem as shock as he should have been. Alec could only stare at him. _Where's the Joshua who should be comforting me by now?_

A bit annoyed, he finally asked: 'Aren't ya gonna say something, advice me, maybe?'

Joshua looked at Alec again in silence, which was driving the X5 crazy. The Dog-man finally found the exact word to describe Alec at that moment: 'Idiot.'

Alec did a double take. 'What?'

'Alec idiot,' said Josh, again.

_What! Did I tell the story wrong!_ 'Why am I the idiot here! I'm not the one who screwed up this time! I'm not he one who used someone else for self reward!' _Bad Alec. Bad, bad, bad Alec… _said a mocking voice inside his head,_ like you've never done that a million times during your short existence_; d_uring__ and after Manticore._

'Alec whines because Max's with Logan,' said Josh only to be interrupted by Alec.

'I don't whine! And if I do in fact whine every once in a while, it certainly is not because Max's with Logan!' the X5 complained.

Joshua just carried on, raising a finger for every statement, 'Alec whines because Max's not with Logan, Alec whines because Little Fella told Logan she's with you. Alec idiot.'

Alec was now very irked. He did not understand what Josh was trying to say. Why was he the idiot here? Technically, he had only whined because Max lied to Logan and dragged him into the whole mess.

'Ok, Josh, I have no idea where you going with this,' said Alec.

'Alec ever wondered why Max lied to Logan?' Joshua asked.

'_Cause she's a bitch and she's more fucking confuse than a 15 year-old._

'I don't know. Knowing Max, she's just freaking out because now there's nothing between her and commitment,' said Alec with disdain.

'How come?' asked Joshua, now quite interested in Alec's answer.

'Why else? We were not built to love or get attach to people.' Alec said, more mechanically than he would like. It was, after all, the perfect Manticore answer he knew so well. But that did not make it any less true. Even Max, who had lived out of Manticore for over 10 years, could not get emotionally attach to anyone. Perhaps Cindy was the only ordinary (_no offence_) Max would always be attached to. Still, he was not better than Max. Although he always acted as if Max's affection towards Logan was her big flaw, at some level he knew it was not. To love was the one true thing Manticore never thought their kids, and some how she learnt. In a clumsy, twisted way, yes, but she knew what love was. And she knew how it felt. He… he was not so sure. Maybe he was afraid of it. Loosing Rachel had scarred him for life.

'Max would not lie to Logan because little fella is scared,' said Josh, after Alec's words sunk in. 'There is something else.'

'Like what? 'Cause I can't think of anything else,' the X5 retorted.

'Or someone else?' tried Joshua, hoping Alec would get the hint.

Alec was getting more and more annoyed. What the hell was Josh talking about!

'Someone? What?'

Joshua, who was the most patient person man in the entire face of the earth, was now losing it. He hit the X5's head, not too hard, otherwise he could have killed him.

'What was that for!' asked Alec, very surprised and quite exasperated.

_Ok, this is it!_ thought Josh.

He grabbed Alec by the shoulders, and said: 'Virus bitch gone, Max's not with Logan and she told him she's with Alec! Understand! Max wants to be with medium fella!'

Alec let out a little laugh after a moment. 'Josh, are you hearing yourself? Max wants me? She wouldn't even want me if I was the last guy on the earth, ok? Where the hell do you get these ideas?'

'Why would Max not want Alec?' asked Josh, feeling a bit insulted.

'First of, she's got Captain America with glasses… Logan,' he clarified a moment after for he understood by Josh's face that the dog-man did not know who Captain America was. 'Why would she want to be with a screw up like me? She's enough screwed up and has enough problems without me on the picture.'

'But little fella cares. She helped you with police when you got mistaken by your twin,' Josh argued.

'No, she helped me because she was afraid of exposure. I'm not stupid Josh,' said Alec.

He had always known he was only one more pain in Max's ass. Helping him was like helping any other transgenic she had set free. He was not that special. He was not Logan.

Alec sighed. Joshua did not know what else to say. He knew in his heart that Max felt something for their beloved 494.

Or maybe, he wished she would.

'Listen, I gotta blaze. Thank you for the talk, anyway,' said Alec as he placed a hand on the big guys shoulder.

* * *

'So he just left? Without saying a word?' said OC. Max nodded. 'Well, girl, you fucked it real time.' 

'Gee, thanks, that makes me feel sooo much better,' said Max as she crossed her arms over her chest.

'Sorry, boo, but what kind of friend would Original Cindy be if she lied to you. The boy's aiight.'

'Aiight 'bout what? He didn't say a word!' the X5 retorted, her bitchy-self taking over.

'He's aiight ´bout being angry at ya.' Her friend answered, as she looked at her eyes. OC had never been afraid of her hot-headed friend, and she was not going to start now. "Look, ya and I both know OC ain't the biggest Alec fan, but lately the boy has shown that he's growing up. Right or not?'

'I guess so. But he's still a dick," said Max, trying to control that beast that always made her act before thinking. If she could blame him at least a little bit, though, for all of this, maybe she would not feel so guilty.

'Well, he's a man after all,' she said with one of her faces. She then carried on with her point, 'The boy has been doing a pretty damn good job becoming a little good man, trying to make ya feel proud of him.' At this, Max looked at her in disbelief. Since when Alec really cared what she thought about him? 'And then you go and do that ta him? OC understands the poor boy,' she finished, and took a sip of her beer.

_Thanks OC! I come here so you can make me feel a bit better, and I leave feeling worse! _

But OC was right. Yes, Alec had done many stupid things, and she had always saved his ass. But he always thanked her, or apologized to her. And, _ok, yes, I've notice that he's growing up! Maybe that's why I like him… _

'Maybe I should-' Max started to say, as the bitch inside was defeated by her reason, only to be interrupted by Cindy, who, as if she had read her friend's thoughts, said: 'Yeah, you should.'

The X5 glanced at her friend one last time before leaving Crash towards Alec's apartment.

* * *

She arrived at her destination, but she had been standing in front of her X5 fellow's door for over 10 minutes, debating whether to knock the door or not. The answer was: NOT. Max turned around and started to walk towards the stairs in order to leave. _No! Stop! Get a grip soldier! Now, go back there and apology to that boy, before I get there and kick yo´ ass! Now! _Strangely, the voice of Max's conscience sounded a lot like Cindy's. Weird. 

So, she heard that little voice, turned around again towards Alec's door, took a breath and knocked it, before she could regret it.

The door opened but she did not find the person she was hoping to find.

'Who are you?'

* * *

Review if you like, Review if you don't... Contructive Criticism always welcome. 


	12. Chapter 12: The Magnified Wrath of Alec

Hey, Ok, here's a new chappie. As always, I hope you guys like it. I would like to take a moment to do a very, VERY silly victory dance to celebrate Supernatural's 2nd season! YEEEY! Woo! Woo! Yeeeaah! Ok, I'm done.

**

* * *

****Chapter 12**

'Who are you?' asked Max, surprised to find this person instead of Alec in front of her.

'Who are **you**?' the person asked.

'Where's Alec?' she asked alarmed.

'Oh! I'm Biggs, Alec's roommate,' said Biggs, stretching his hand to Max. She did not take it. She was too shocked to actually realize the guy was offering his hand.

'Alec's roommate?' she asked, feeling more and more troubled. _Alec has a roommate? Since when? He never said a thing ´bout a roommate. _The first thing to cross her mind after these thoughts was that this was some sort of trap. But if it was, there should be armed men around her by now. What if it was White and his loony cult's trap?

'Yeah, who are you?' this Biggs guy asked again.

Max did not answer right away. 'I'm... Max. Where's Alec?' she asked again, this time slowly and more worried than ever, getting ready to fight back if necessary. Her hands became fists in a second, and her body tensed like it always did before a fight. She never moved her eyes away from this man.

'I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he'll be back any minute. Wanna wait for him?' said Biggs very politely, like a true gentleman, as he looked over his shoulder at the apartment, inviting her in.

At first, she thought that gesture was nothing but what the bad guys did when they felt their job was not as flawless as they thought and were afraid that their hostage would come out of the closet. But then, in just a flash, she glimpsed part of a barcode on his neck, and she smiled. Her fists became hands again, and she relaxed. _Of course Alec isn't **THAT** stupid like to take anyone as a roommate_.

'Ok,' answered Max, entering the apartment, and scanning the room with her eyes.

'Want something to drink?' he asked her as he closed the door.

'Uhm.. yeah, sure. What you got?' she said, still smiling a bit.

'Beer and some milk,' answered Biggs.

'I'll go for the beer,' said Max. 'So, how long have you known Alec?' she asked casually.

'A few years,' he answered, as he opened the fridge.

Max took off her jacket and laid it over the couch and then sat on the arm of it.

'Really? I never heard of you,' she said, still not revealing her identity.

Biggs smiled. Who was this girl? Did she really think Alec was going to tell her about his life? He sighed, as he thought she must be some of Alec's conquers who had fallen for the guy and thought they were true soul mates. The only reason he had let her in was because once Alec came back and told her to take a hike, he would be there to ease the pain of her broken heart. She was too damn hot to let this opportunity pass.

'Well, maybe you haven't known Alec that long,' he answered as he approached her with the beer.

_Oh, feisty! _Max thought, with a smile.

'Maybe you're right,' she replied, taking the beer. Then she added, 'I don't mean to offend you, but…' she sighed, making a dramatic pause, and looking at him as if her was talking to a small child who knew little and nothing about the world.

Biggs thought this was the moment she was going to snap at him saying he did not understand the powerful connection that she and Alec shared and blah, blah, blah.

'You should really cover your barcode better,' she finally said.

The male stared at her for a second, his right hand becoming a fist and his left one tightening its grip on the bottle of beer. His body tensing, just like Max's had done a few moments before.

She smiled as she said: 'Relax, buddy,' and then, she turned around, brought her hair up and showed Biggs her own barcode.

He relaxed and let out a breath. 'You scared the shit out of me,' he finally said.

'I know. I saw your face,' she said as Biggs took a swing of his beer.

'I thought you were some chick looking for Alec.'

'Well, I am a girl, and I did, technically, come looking for Alec,' said Max matter-of-factly.

'You know what I mean. An "ordinary" girl,' he said.

'Oh. He has a lot of those coming over?' she asked in a casual way.

'I wouldn't know, I just moved in,' Biggs answered.

'Really?'

'Yeah, I found him in Terminal City, and he offered me the extra room.'

'Wow, you guys must really go back if he offered something,' said Max, taking a sip of her beer.

Biggs smiled. 'You really know him, eh?' he said, mocking at his friend.

'More than you know,' she answered.

'Oh, you guys… together?' he asked.

She choked on her beer at that moment. 'No! No, we're—not together like that. We just hang,' she said, just wishing she could be buried 6 feet under. 'You know, we have friends in common. We work together. And to be quite honest, I've saved his ass way too many times,' she finished.

'Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable.'

'You didn't,' she answered faster than she liked. 'So,' she said after a few moments, hoping to change the subject, 'you and Alec were in the same Unit?'

'No, we actually met at Psy-ops, and then we did some jobs together.'

Max hold back a "_you mean assassinations_".

'How long have you known Alec, anyway?' asked Biggs.

'A few months. Seven, eight months,' she replied.

'Eight months?' he said, thinking.

'Yeah.'

'Ooh! Yeah! 452! The rogue. I remember you. 494's breeding partner,' he said with a wicked smile on his face.

'Yes,' Max simply said. She was not as proud about that as X5 males did.

'I also remember 494, Alec, swearing for a week when he was told you were his breeding mate,' said Biggs laughing.

_Hey! That's not funny!_ 'What do you mean?' asked Max, feeling insulted.

'Well, he had just gotten out of Psy-ops because of 493, and then they assigned you as his breeding partner, another rogue. He knew you meant business.'

Max smiled, as she took another sip of her beer, so he would not realize that actually hurt her a little bit. A few months back, she would not have given a rat's ass. But now, it bothered her to know he thought her a pain in the ass just because she was an 09er.

Something got her attention then, so she asked Biggs: 'How come you're so nice?'

'Sorry?' he said, not understanding what she was referring to.

'I mean, why are you so nice to me, if you know who I am?'

'You mean…?'

'An 09er,' Max answered.

'Oh! Well… I don't know.'

'Transgenics don't usual react that well when they find out who I am,' she said, remembering Sam; even Alec's outburst a few months back, when Rachel's memory had come back to hunt 494.

'Uhm… I don't know. I trust Alec with my life. He saved my ass a few too many times, so I guess that if you are here and you "hang" with him, you must not be so bad. Alec trusts you. Therefore, I trust you.'

Max smiled. 'He really saved you too many times?' she asked, with a serious tone. Biggs nodded, so Max went on, 'then how come I have to get his ass out of trouble all the freaking time?' she joked. 'It's like he can't do a thing right.'

Biggs laughed. 'Well, that I can't believe! Maybe he's trying to get your attention,' Biggs joked this time.

They both laughed.

'Max?' they both heard and stopped laughing.

It was Alec, standing next to the open door, holding some paper bags which contained Chinese food.

Max straightened up.

'Hey, man,' said Biggs, walking towards his friend. 'Max's here.'

'Yeah, I can see her,' said Alec, not moving from his spot next to the door.

Max just stared at him, trying to read his face, looking for some emotion.

Biggs could feel the tension between the two X5s. He looked from one to the other, waiting to see who would be the first to talk, but he realized neither of them was going to, and he was starving.

'You brought food. Good!' he said to Alec, shutting the door, and taking the bags from Alec's grip. He put them over the kitchen table, which was quite small. When Biggs turned around, his friend and Max were still standing where he had left them a few moments ago. He was, by now, quite curious about what had happened between them, and Max quite "clumsy" statement that they were "not like that" had not really convinced him.

Biggs decided they both looked like two idiots so he decided to break the ice for them. 'Hey, you guys!' he said, raising his voice and clapping, trying to get their attention. 'Wake up!' The two zombies looked at him as if they had just woken up from a dream. 'Dinner's served. Max, would you join us?' he finished.

Max considered it for a second. 'Ok,' she answered.

They all sat on the kitchen-table, and started eating the pathetic excuse of Chinese food. None of them was talking and it was driving Biggs crazy. He knew he had to get the hell out of there before the storm began. He finished his dinner in no more than three minutes.

'Well, I'm gonna stretch my legs. Nice meeting you Max!' he said quickly, putting on his jacket.

'Same here Biggs,' said Max, softly.

And then, it was just the two of them.

'Listen, Alec—' she started but was interrupted by him.

'Just don't say anything, ok?' said Alec as he stood up and headed towards the living-room. Maybe, Max would understand that he did not want to talk to her for the moment being. But today was not Alec's lucky day. She stood up just after he did and followed him.

'But—' Max tried again, but she was not able to carry on as he interrupted her again.

'Max, I really don't want to talk with you right now,' he simply said.

She considered this for a moment, and decided maybe Alec was right. Maybe he just needed to cool off. But she still needed to say something. Anything.

'I'm sorry, Alec. I really am.'

Although Max had apologized to him, something that rarely happened, Alec could not help being mad at her. No matter what Joshua had said, no matter how many times she would apologize, he was still mad. All he needed was some time alone, but Max did not seem to understand that. So he decided to give her a piece of his mind.

'You know, there's something I still don't understand," he said looking straight at her eyes. His voice was calm, but he was definitely holding himself back. Alec had unleashed his wrath. 'Why did you have to drag me into it!'

'I... I had to say something and—' she managed to say before she was, yet again, interrupted by Alec.

'Yeah, so blame Alec. 'Cause his the kind of jerk that'd steal another guy's girl, right?'

Max did not know what to say. To be quite honest, she never really thought he would even care. But, here they were; she, feeling guilty, and he, hurt by her actions. Who would have guessed?

Guilty or not guilty, she was still looking Alec at the eyes, something that angered him, for some reason. But he could not help being arrested by her eyes. Those rebellious, strong eyes that had hypnotized him from the moment he met her. Not only for their beauty, but for that spark that only Max had. She had been the first person he ever met who could face the worst of the enemies with resolved, defiant eyes.

'Just so you know, I'm gonna tell Logan.'

'Alec—'

'Just go,' he said in a soft, yet determined voice as he opened the door of his apartment, waiting for her to leave.

She sighed, went to get her jacket and left not looking at Alec once.

* * *

**NEXT MORNING**

Alec entered Jam Pony with Biggs by his side.

'Hey, boss,' Alec greeted Normal, who was, as usual, behind the counter.

'Hey, Golden Boy,' Normal greeted. 'So, were you able to solve your problem?' he asked.

'Oh, yeah, yeah. No problem at all,' Alec answered, as he remembered the stupid excuse he had given Normal for being absent yesterday. 'Listen, boss, I was wondering, my friend here is new in town, and he helped me out yesterday with my, uhm, problem, and well, he needs a job. I thought you could score him something?'

Normal looked at Biggs from toe to head, 'Where did you meet him?' he asked Alec.

'Well…' said Alec, trying to come up with something that would interest Normal. _Oh! I got it! _'You see, I had a little problem yesterday with a bunch of slobs, and, as hard as it is to admit, I wasn't able to handle them all by myself. So, this rightful gentleman arrived to help me give those punks a lesson. And, I gotta tell you boss, he's an amazing fighter. If I were to get back to the Cage fighting life, I wouldn't dare to fight against this fella over here.'

Biggs stared at Alec, a bit confused. _What the hell is he talking about?_

'Really? So,' said now Normal addressing to the other guy, 'you are like the Robin of Monty?'

Biggs did not know what to answer to that. _The what of the who? What the hell is a robin and who the hell is Monty!_

'Yes, something like that,' answered Alec, with a grin.

'Well, Alec's friends are always welcome to work here. Fill this form and take a bike,' he said, pointing at the bikes hanging from the roof, in front of the counter.

'Hey, boss,' said now Alec, getting comfortable on the counter. 'Have you thought about what I told you? ´Bout the motor bikes?' Normal nodded. 'What do you think?'

'Well, I like it. Except no one in here has a bike except for you.'

'And me,' said Biggs, as he filled the form.

'And me,' said Max from behind the men, with an obviously fake smile. She looked towards Alec, 'Hey.'

'Hey,' he simply said, not even looking at her, and left the counter making his way to his locker.

As Max followed Alec with her eyes, her ears picked the sound of that annoying little voice that should belong to the devil.

'Well, but if isn't no one than miss I'm-too-lazy-to-came-to-work. You're half hour late!'

'Chill out, Normal,' said Max dismissively She was not in the mood to put up with Normal's moods today. She had enough with hers and Alec's.

'Hey Max,' said Biggs, whose existence had not been notice by Max yet. He gave Normal the form.

'Oh! Hey! What are you doing here?' asked Max with a smile. A true smile. Alec saw that, despite his efforts to pretend Max did not exist.

'Alec scored me a job here,' he answered, as they approached the lockers area.

'Great! Then we'll see often,' she told him. She had only spoken with him for a few minutes the day before but she had really liked Biggs. He seemed easygoing and fun to hang with.

'Yeah. Hey, by the way… Who's Monty?'

Normal interrupted their little conversation. 'Missy Miss, take…' he said giving Biggs a 'What is your name?' look, and then looked at the form he was still holding in one of his hands. 'Anthony, here-'

'Biggs,' the X5 corrected.

'It says Anthony here,' Normal argued.

'That's my first name. I go for my last name. Biggs,' he explained.

Normal sighed. 'Fine, Biggs over here and show him how this is done. That is if you know how to do it.'

Max gave Normal a nasty look. 'I'll do it.'

'I can do it,' said Alec from behind them, ready for a deliver.

'No, I need you on a hot run to sector 7,' said Normal and gave him a package. Alec left immediately on his bike after wishing Biggs good luck.

Max and Biggs approached the counter after assigning Biggs a locker, and Normal gave them at least four packages to deliver.

* * *

By the end of the day, Alec had not seen Biggs, nor Max, yet.

'Hey boo, coming to Crash?' Cindy asked Alec. The African-American goddess was just leaving Jam Pony, while Alec had just arrived from another hot run.

'Ok, yeah. Have you seen Biggs?'

'Yeah, he and Max left like half an hour ago. They said they would meet us there.'

'Thanks,' said Alec, hiding the confusion and jealousy from his voice.

* * *

Reviews are mostly welcome!


	13. Chapter 13: Two corny, transgenic boys

So, after a looooooong time, I'm back with a new and very, VERY corny chappie… I hope you guys like it… it's kinda out of character, but what the hell! I don't think neither characters would do the things they've done so far on this story, so… just have fun and enjoy… WARNING… no Max on this chapter, I suddenly realized… Oh, well…

* * *

**Chapter 13**

The moment Alec entered the establishment known as Crash he wished he had not. Out-of-control is a feeling he had recently been experiencing, and he did not like it at all. Jealousy would be a sub-category for Out of Control.

He took a seat by the bar, ordered the usual, and a few minutes later he was gone.

He jumped on his bike and started it. In some ways he was a bit like Max; he loved to let out his frustration on the road. And thinking was all he could do.

The fist thing he saw when he entered Crash was Max sitting next to Biggs, laughing out loud, looking at Biggs expectantly.

His blood was boiling. Not because Biggs had made her laugh like that, or because another man had done it, for that matter. But because he had let himself believe Joshua's words. **"Max wants to be with Medium Fella."** _Yeah, right._ Because she using him meant she wanted him; she being with another man meant she wanted him; she treating him like shit meant she wanted him.

_I don't think so._ _It's time to forget. No good will come from this. One of these days, sooner than later, I'm gonna start acting like a jealous idiot, and that's when the ass kicking'll start. No, thanks, I pass. I rather be an ass than the stupid with a "crush" on Max._

Although Alec had not noticed, Biggs saw him entering the place and leaving in less than 5 minutes. He was leaving slowly. His eyes down like he was thinking, like he was on his own world, never seeing the two girls he bumped into at the bottom of the stairs. To Biggs, Alec looked defeated, but defeated on what, he did not know. Then, he saw Max next to him, laughing, beautiful actually, and he suddenly understood.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Biggs was back to the apartment Alec had offered to share with him only two days before, and saw his fellow X5, his friend, sitting on the couch, watching some old sitcom and drinking a beer.

'Hey, Al,' said Biggs as he approached the couch and sat next to Alec's slumped body.

'Hey,' Alec simply replied.

'You left Crash early. Why?'

'Well,' said Alec, as he realized that he had not been there undetected, 'I wasn't in the mood to hang with no one,' he finally said, not actually lying, but omitting information; for "no one" actually meant "Max".

Then, out of nowhere, Biggs asked, 'What's up between you and Max?'

Alec looked up to his friend now, very surprised. 'What!' he said, almost spilling all his beer over the couch as he straightened up.

'Yeah, I mean, are you guys... together? Or were together? Or are you guys just beating around the bush?' He did not even flinch as he asked this to Alec.

'We're... nothing,' was Alec's answer. All in all, Biggs noted Alec's disappointment.

'You mean... nothing at all?'

'Yeap, nothing,' the blond X5 said again, watching at the TV again as if his friend had never asked such a question. 'Why? You wanna talked her into "taste" the Biggs?' he casually asked, in an attempt to make this conversation more "macho" like. But Biggs had other plans.

'Maybe, I don't know. She's pretty cool; and I kinda think she's into me.'

'Well, I don't know, man. Max's not that simple. She's one of those females that excel at making men suffer. She's not the kind of girl who's into the typical "one night stand". Besides, she's crazy ´bout a guy, Logan. Mr. Save-the-world-for-Tuesday.'

'She's got a boyfriend? She didn't say anything,' said Biggs, frowning. She really had not mentioned anything about a Logan guy.

'Well, that's because they're not together anymore. Or at least for a while,' he told Biggs, spitefully.

'What do you mean with "at least for a while"?' Biggs asked.

'Well, it's kind of a long story.'

'I got nowhere else to go... I live here. I got time.'

'Well, Manticore put this virus on Max which only affects Logan, because its target is his DNA. They've been round each other a year before the virus thing and nothing ever happened, and when they were ready to… move to the next step of their relationship,' this he said it as if he was retelling the corniest this in the entire world, 'the virus thing happened and now Max is using me so Logan won't be near her.'

'Oooh... that's why you're so mad at her, right?'

'Yeah,' Alec admitted, despite himself.

Then, neither of them talked for a while. Biggs watched at his friend trying to hide his true feelings behind that mask he always used to use and that, apparently, he still used. A mask that had been given by Maticore to all of them. He felt sorry for the guy. Alec was in love with this girl, and he thought he did not have a chance with her. Only an expert would notice this sort of emotion on such an emotionless face like Alec's.

Ok, ok, so, OC, Josh and Biggs were the **ONLY** ones who could read him like an open book. It was like everyone knew exactly how he felt. He had worked so hard all his life to build these tall, strong walls around his emotions so no one would be able to see his true feelings, not even Manticore, and then, less than a year in the outside had crumbled those walls. How had this happened?

'She talked ´bout you,' said Biggs, finally breaking the silence, which was not silence at all because of the TV.

Alec was confused. 'Who?'

'My surrogate mother,' said Biggs sarcastically. 'Max, you idiot! She only talked ´bout you. Tonight, at Crash.'

Alec just stared at his friend; he was not sure what to say. Maybe an "Oh" or a "really?" would be appropriated, but none of them seamed the right answer, so he just did not say anything.

'You know I would never do anything to steal her from ya, right?' continued Biggs.

'She's not mine to be stolen from,' said Alec in a low voice.

None of them said anything for a while; they just looked at the craziness of Lucile Ball, until Biggs thought of something; a concept which had never meant anything to his people, but now, it was starting to gain meaning. It was a concept related to ordinaries and human emotions. So, if it had any sort of meaning to them, transgenics, did it mean they were at least a bit human, after all?

'You ever thought ´bout having a girlfriend?' he finally asked. He was not sure how to ask what he wanted to know and this was the only way he could think of in order to communicate his enquiry. His true question was about Love.

_No way! He cannot possibly want Max to be his girlfriend! He just met her! _Alec did not answer right away. He thought Biggs's question, which he completely misunderstood, but still was able to answer it the way Biggs had been looking for. Alec had not really thought about it before and there was only one reason why, 'I don't think we can get that close to anyone.'

'Why? You don't think we were built to care?'

'No, it's not that.' He had cared. He still found himself caring for people, not only himself, and that surprised him every time he realized he was acting like someone who cared. 'But we are a danger to anyone else.'

Biggs knew what he was talking about, though 494 had not said a word back at Manticore about the real reason his last assignment had gone sideways. He had found out about Berrisford, and his daughter, Rachel. He had never known how much that young, ordinary girl had meant to Alec until now.

'You say that because of... her?' Biggs said tentatively.

Alec knew right away Biggs was not talking about Max. This time, he was talking about her. The girl he had once loved; a forbidden love that had gotten her killed. Rachel. He did not know how his friend had found out about it; probably the same way **he** used to find out about things inside Manticore.

'Sort of,' was Alec's answer.

The conversation had definitely became a corny one. Here there were two hot machos, who could be talking about sex and hot chicks and whatever it had to do with sex and hot chicks. Instead, they were talking about love. That's a first.

Alec remained quiet, thinking; thinking about Rachel, how his stupid heart had gotten her killed. Well, not his heart, but the stupid good little soldier inside him. He had known back then that someone like him could never fall inlove. Not because he could not emotionally, because he could, he had felt it, but because he knew he would put that person he loved in danger... again.

Biggs did not say anything, and did not ask anything, though he was dying to know what exactly had happened between his friend and this Rachel girl. He only knew what the report he had managed to get a hold of had said. 494 had not completed his mission for he had gotten emotionally attached to the Berrisfords, specially the daughter.

Alec spoke again, to Biggs's great surprise. 'Though, it... would be nice, you know... to have someone to take care of... maybe love, even.'

That was a very corny thing to say from Alec, and he knew it, but what the hell, he was talking with an old friend and he had brought up the subject.

'You think you could ever love someone with such intensity?' asked Biggs.

'I don't know.'

It was funny how Biggs would ask his questions after a long period of silence in which the two males would watch the TV. Alec noticed this, so after Biggs second question, he was reading to the following uncharacteristic question from Biggs after the long brake. What he did not expect was the question his friend asked.

'Are you inlove with Max?'

Biggs knew Alec was not going to tell him jack, and that he would have to be more straightforward. So, that's the only way he thought of asking his friend exactly what he wanted to know.

Tonight, Biggs was full of surprises. Or surprising question, better said.

'What! What the hell are you talking about!' Alec asked staring at his friend with astonishment and a mix of annoyance.

'Come on, dude. How long have we known each other? Too long, and even though Manticore never approved bonding. We were friends; hopefully, still are. So don't play the fool with me, k? Because I saw you leaving Crash tonight, the way you left. As if you had been defeated. And you know why you were so upset? Because, I was talking to Max. I'm not stupid.'

'Well, apparently you are, because I have no idea what you're talking about,' said Alec standing up, leaving Biggs on the couch, to get some beers from the fridge.

'Oh! Come on Alec! You can't tell me you don't fell at least a bit attracted to her!' Biggs stated.

'Attracted, yes. Inlove, no.' _Ok, just keep telling yourself that. Maybe you'll believe it._ 'Max's hot, yeah, and it would be a dream come true to take her to bed, big deal. But that's all it is. Hormones. Not love, just hormones,' the blonde X5 said as he handed Biggs a beer.

'Fine. If you say so,' said Biggs giving up.

Alec opened his beer, 'I say so.'

'Just so you know: there's nothing wrong ´bout love. Just because we spent our entire lives in a Government Facility, learning the fine art of assassination doesn't mean we can't fall inlove. And, Alec, Manticore's gone. You can start acting like a 23 year old guy.'

Alec remained silent yet again.

'You ever fall inlove' Alec suddenly asked.

'No, but I heard that, in normal circumstance, it's the best feeling ever.'

'You really think so?'

'Well, it's a popular fact. It's on the movies, in songs, cards, everywhere.'

'Now, you see that's the thing,' Alec started, 'we don't have "normal circumstances",' he finished with a look at his friend.

'Well, as normal as it gets for us,' Biggs finished, as he lifted his eyebrows.

Alec smiled.

'I'm going to bed, dude.'

'Yeah, bye.'

Alec did not go to bed for a little while. He just sat on his couch thinking about all they had talked about. Maybe Biggs was right: maybe there was nothing wrong about love. Nevertheless, he was still a bit afraid of it, which was strange. How can you be afraid of something that you cannot touch? How can you be afraid of something that brings joy to so many people?

There were many things Alec might be, but he was definitely not a quitter. He would not avoid the subject any longer. The question was simple: _are you or are you not inlove with Max, Miss Bitchy 2020?_

Alec smiled. He turned off the TV, and went to bed.

Yeap, he was inlove.

* * *

As always, review as MOSTLY welcome... 


	14. Chapter 14: Truth Among the Runes

Hey, so I'm winter brake so I managed to get this out before I usually do! Anyway, hope you guys like it… A lot of Logan-Max moments… but in a good way… and a lot of Alec-Max cute!moment… As always, reviews are welcome, and constructive criticism is required! I really liked this chapter and I would like to know what you guys think… too cheesy? Not enough descriptions? Push the little button at the end to let me know!

* * *

**Chapter 14**

After the little talk with Biggs, a lot of thinking and reviewing what Logan had said to him, Alec was ready to talk to Max.

He found her at Crash, sitting with Original Cindy, but, of course, he took his time. He approached the bar first, asked a scotch, and made his way to the girl's table really slowly; taking his time. Pure torture for Max, who knew he was there from the moment he entered the establishment. As he climbed the set of stairs, OC got up from the table and approached him.

'Don't you make her feel any worse than she already does,' the brunet said, and left them alone to talk.

The X5 male sat on OC's seat and took a sip of his drink while he stared at Max as if it was just another night and they were just hanging at Crash. He did not say a word. He was torturing her… and he was loving it!

'So, you gonna tell me what happen?' she asked a little annoyed at Alec's silence.

He took a good look at her before speaking. He wanted to just be able to appreciate her face before telling her what he needed to tell her. For some reason, she looked sad. He sighed. He knew why she was sad. That was the only expression he had known on Max's face since he met her. Logan. It was always about Logan. He would never understand what she saw in him. Not only Logan did not deserve her, he was only one of the many, many people who would never really understand her; never really know the real her.

'I didn't say anything,' he answered her question, and her face softened a little immediately after that.

'Thanks... look,' she said, in an attempt to apologize; this was really hard for her. Apologize to Alec was not something she ever did, even if he honestly deserved it. It was a matter of principle. Ok, ok, she was just stubborn like that. 'I'm sorry, really. I just... I never thought you would even care.'

'Well, there's a lot you don't know ´bout me... and, anyway, I overreacted. Kinda immature, uh?'

Max gave Alec a small, soft smile, and said, 'Guess I beat you, anyway.'

'Well, we both acted like two idiots, so... let's just forget about.'

'Deal. So what happened? Why did you change your mind?'

Alec sighed. He bit his lip before talking. He would always do that when he was nervous, Max noticed.

It was hard to admit he had been wrong, and even more so when he was actually right.

'Well, I guess you were right. I mean, you had to say something.' Alec looked down, to his glass of scotch as he bit his lower lip again, tearing his eyes away from hers. 'Though, uhm... you didn't push him away. I'm not sure what would. He let you go, because he wanted you to be happy.'

Max knew those words should be important for her, should mean something to her; after all, Alec was saying Logan was still inlove with her and would be for a long time. Logan had been important for her, the most important person in her life once. But suddenly, she could not help feeling a shrug wanting to spread across her shoulders. All in all, she just wished Logan would move on, because that would be the only way she would not feel guilty about her other feelings. Her feelings for a certain X5. She had first broken up with Logan as a noble act; she was trying to avoid Eyes Only's death. But now, she did not feel anything noble or sad about it. Two years had been an awful long time, and this relationship had worn her out. She was now up for something else, something different.

'Can I ask you something?' he asked, interrupting that way Max's thoughts.

'What?' she answered softly.

'Why did you lie to Logan?'

Max sighed in annoyance, already tired of repeating the same explanation over and over again, and somewhat confuse for she had already covered this with Alec.

'I already told you--'

But Alec cut her off. 'No, I mean after you guys found the cure… why?'

Max looked straight at him. She was not actually prepared for that question. She never really thought Alec would wonder about that. But could she tell him at that precise moment the real reason why she had kept the lie? Could she tell him about the confusion Logan's words had brought when he said he had found the cure? Or how she figured it had had something to do with Alec? That she had realized she liked him more than a brother, a friend… That she liked him as a man?

She suddenly realized Alec's eyes were fixed on her arm, which she found quite odd, for his face was that of utter fear.

When she looked down at her arm, she found what her companion had been staring at.

'Oh, my God,' was all she was able to say.

There were little black patterns, like Chinese letters, except they were not Chinese. These were like nothing she had ever seen.

'What the hell are they?' said Alec, taking her arm for a closer look. The designs were appearing slowly over her skin.

* * *

'Huh...' said Logan from the other side of the screen.

Max and Alec had gone to Terminal City so they could talk to Logan through the webcam. She had convinced Logan to move to Father's house so he would be closer in case they needed his help or he needed their help.

'Huh as in "Strange but I know exactly what it is, huh" or "Huh, what the hell is going on"?' said Max, loosing some of her patience.

Alec was holding the webcam that allowed Logan to take a closer look to the "tattoos".

'Closer to the second one. So, they just popped out? You didn't do anything... come into contact with anyone... Drink anything?' the old man asked.

'Yeah, I drank a bottle of something that said "Tattoos from within". Was that wrong?' she answered, not even trying to hide the sarcasm this time. _What kind of stupid question is that? Did you drink anything? Please!_

'Hey, take it easy.'

'Sorry... it's just freaking me out.'

'They look a little like the symbol on Joshua's necklace,' he said and then after a small pause he continued. 'Maybe they're like your barcode, some kind of genetically-encoded imprint, designed to appear on your skin at a given time.'

'What for and why now?'

'I don't know... Maybe it's a message.'

'From who?'

'Father,' said Joshua, who had been sitting at the back looking at theirs interaction, quite worried about Max.

Max, Alec, Logan and everyone who was listening to the conversation looked at the big Dog-man.

'That makes sense. Maybe Sandeman put this message on you,' said Logan.

'But why?' asked Max.

'Maybe to warn you ´bout something... I don't know.' Max was quiet. 'Look, I'm gonna check on it. I have a friend who studied Lost Dead Languages. Maybe he can tell me what language is this.'

'Ok.'

* * *

They had been at Terminal City when a strange man, claming to be an X5, showed up. His name was CJ and he was not only strange, but also crazy. Despite the fact that he was in HQ surrounded by a too many strong and fast transgenics who could rip him apart if made a wrong movement, there was something about him that made Max feel unease, and when he seemed to recognize Joshua's necklace, even more.

But all of that was forgotten when Luke interrupted them.

'Guys! Hey, guys! Guys!'

A newscast had come on TV, announcing that the police was pursuing a transgenic. They showed footage of the transgenic in question. It was Biggs.

_"If you see this individual, please alert the authorities immediately. This alleged transgenic is considered to be a dangerous fugitive and should not be approached under any circumstances. It is unclear if the suspect is armed,"_ said the reporter.

'It's Biggs,' said Alec with bitter sweetness in his voice… his preoccupation in the surface. He took his phone and dialed Biggs´ cell phone number. 'Come on, buddy,' he said to the phone impatiently.

CJ took this opportunity to leave, leaving the bag he had handed to Luke behind.

'Hey,' said Biggs as soon as he answered. 'You won't believe what just happened to me.'

'Where are you?' the blond X5 asked his friend.

'Almost leaving sector 5, I'm on my way to Terminal City.'

'You betta hurry, pal. You're all over National Television.'

'Shit!'

'Excuse me,' said a man from behind him. It was the man who had been asking for money for a trannie free Seattle.

'Hang on a sec, Alec,' said Biggs and now addressing to the man behind him, 'Yeah?'

'You wanna help keep the neighborhood trannie-safe?'

'Some other time,' said Biggs, and then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pipe about to crash against his back. He stopped it with his hand and took it away from the man so fast that none of the other men saw the move. Biggs hit one of them with it so hard, the ordinary fell to the ground completely unconscious and then kicked the man who had had the pipe in the guts and smash his head against a car, leaving him unconscious too. Now, there was only one ordinary standing, and the X5 could see how his body shook from the terror. The man just backed up slowly until he turned around and run the hell out of there.

'Alec?' he said again to the phone, 'I'll be there right away.'

* * *

After the little incident, things got a little tense. White's people showed up at Jam Pony, looking for information about Biggs. Apparently someone had recognized him. Luckily, OC had taken Alec's, Max's and every other transgenic's file out before the agents could take a look at them. Biggs, however, had made sure not to mention he was crashing with Alec, as well as Alec had never given Normal his real address. Once a soldier, always a soldier.

But that had not been all. Things got even more tense when Max was kidnapped by White, yet again… and, yet again, she managed to escape from him unharmed, and this time with quite shocking information.

She had been double crossed by CJ, Sandeman's son. He had tipped off his brother, and informed him where to find 452 in a place without any backup. His brother was White.

_Life has an ironic sense of humor when it comes to me… My own damn "Days of Our Lives" as my own life. Life keeps laughing at me, slapping at me… it's not **that** funny! Problem, after problem, that **I** have to fix. Life's nothing but an infinite, unthinkable sucky moments one after the other that I just can't fix. Maybe that's why it seems so fun… people love to watch other people's misery._

* * *

The minute Max was back at Terminal City, Logan was there; of course, he was not going to stay long, toxic air and all. He just needed to talk to her.

'So what happened? How did White catch you again?' he said as they separated from the rest of the transgenics in the HQ building.

As they stepped away from the noise, Max realized the distance between her and Logan. It was strange, she thought, how she had gotten used to this distance, that now that there was no danger in proximity she just kept her two-arms-length away from Logan.

'Well, we found this guy who said he was an X5 and he ended up being Sandeman's son,' she answered, with her arms crossed on her chest.

Logan, with a shocked face, said, not really knowing what to say: 'Sandeman's son!'

'Yeah, and White's brother.'

His face was even more shocked. 'So Sandeman is White's father!'

'Aha, and I guess in some twisted kind of way, it means he's my brother.'

'Huh. Well, one thing's for sure. If Sandeman tried to leave the cult, then Joshua was right, he's one of the good guys.'

'So is C.J., in his own crazy way. I feel bad 'bout him. He died because of me. He tried to save me. Whatever Sandeman was trying to tell me with these things, it sure as hell freaked White out. I mean, he made it sound like I was the Second Coming, here to foil his big, evil plan. Like I even know what it is,' she told Logan in her usual valley-girl tone.

'Hey, Max, check it out,' said Alec, coming to where she was. He had not seen Logan, and now he regretted having interrupted them. 'Hey, Logan,' he said casually, pretending he did not know anything of what was going on between the two of them; actually, the tree of them, taking into account that Max had dragged him into the problem.

'Hey, Alec,' the old man answered, and looked away from the couple.

'We've got a little bet going on over here,' the X-5 went on, for he had already interrupted them, 'to see who can last the longest. You want in?'

'No,' she simply said a little uncomfortable.

Max did not know why, but she felt like she should explain to him why she was talking to old, boring Logan.

Alec shrugged his shoulders in a "suit yourself" way, and walked away.

'I'll let you get back to the party. I have to go, anyway,' said Logan, the minute Alec turn back to the competition.

'Logan,' she said without thinking. But after she said the man's name she knew this was the right time to talk to him, to tell him the truth.

Logan looked at her expectantly, hoping she would say something that would free him from his misery.

'I lied to you.'

And she did.

'What d'you mean?' said Logan, not really understanding what she had implied by that. Was she saying what he thought she said? Was he dreaming? No, his dreams usually included the most expensive computer equipment, a very fancy apartment, and, of course, Max naked. No, it was not a dream. Then he must have understood just fine.

'Let's go outside,' she answered instead. Max did not want anyone listening to this, especially not Alec.

Once outside, Max could not see him in the eyes. This was too embarrassing. Analyzing the situation she had gotten herself into she could now see that this had been the stupidest thing she could have came up with; but still, it was the only way Logan would remain away from her, or at least she thought it was. After what Alec told her, a few days back at Crash, she was not entirely sure whether there was anything she could say to keep Logan away. He loved her in a way she did not love him anymore.

'Max?' said the ordinary, trying to bring her back from reverie.

_Ok, that's it! You can't live your life like this! Always feeling like you can't do it! Damn it! You CAN do it! Just tell the man what you're feeling for once!_

'When... you asked me if... I was actually with Alec... I lied.'

'Really?' said Logan in a quiet way, when he was actually jumping up and down inside his little head, thanking Jesus, God and all the gods in heaven for this. He wanted to grab Max and kiss her long and soft, the way he had been waiting to do since the 12-hour-virus-free window they had had. Despite all these feelings, he remained cool.

'Yeah, just let me explain why I did it,' she said quickly.

Max was actually afraid Logan would get mad at her. It was obvious Max did not know him that well. To Max, Logan was 20feet tall, she had idealized him so much that now she did not understand him at all. She knew she would be mad if the situation was the other way around, but that did not mean he would react like her. Logan was not as impulsive and explosive as Max was.

'I was scare,' she started explaining, 'I didn't know what to do, I was completely confused. I... I lied because I needed time to figure out what I was so afraid of, why it felt so wrong...'

'Did you figure it out?' asked Logan with his usual low and husky voice. _Please, say you figured it out._

Max took a moment to figure what she was going to say next and how. She could not just throw it at him as if it was just nothing. It was something, something big; something that was going to completely break his heart in a thousand pieces.

'Yeah,' was her answer as she looked down, trying to keep the tears in her eyes.

'And?'

'And… I realized that… I've been lying to myself.'

Logan was beyond confused.

'Once, I thought that if I buried my feelings deep down inside me I wouldn't get hurt. I thought that if I didn't feel, nothing would hurt. I was just a soldier, Logan. That was all I knew. I didn't know how to care. But, when I met you, those thoughts just… disappeared. You forced me to thinks of other thing. You made me feel like I was not so different after all. I don't know. I guess I liked the way you made me feel. I wanted to know what I was missing.'

'Max, I…' Logan tried to say. The way she was speaking in past tense was making him believe maybe she was not about to say what he had been waiting to hear from her.

Before he could carry on, Max interrupted him. 'But, Logan, this last two years… as amazing and different as they've been…' she sighed in frustration for she could not find the right words she meant to say. 'I'm exhausted. This… thing… this relation-ship wasn't going anywhere… **isn't** going anywhere.'

Logan's relieved expression was gone. He now knew how Max felt about their long but never developed relation-ship. It had been a huge mistake.

'I loved you once, I know I did. But, I feel we're not in the same place anymore. I have so many things going on in my life… I don't know if there's any place for you now. Romantically speaking.'

Max looked like she was about to cry. The last time she had cried for him, when she told Logan they were over, she had cried because she had been in love with Logan. Now, she was crying because she did not love him anymore.

Logan then, out of no where, when he was supposed to be mad at her and sad, kissed Max's forehead. He looked at her with his heart broken but with forgiveness, and left.

* * *

'So, who won?' Max asked Alec, after she finished her little talk with Logan, and approached the crowd.

'Iglu did,' answered the X5, counting his winnings. She smiled… Iglu fitted the transhuman perfectly. Alec should have named Mole, after all Mole did not have any mole in him; he was nothing but a big lizard. 'So, what did Logan say?'

Confusion first, then fear and finally annoyance crossed Max's face after that question. Confusion because she did not know what he was referring to; fear after she realized he might have heard hers and Logan's conversation; and finally annoyance because if he had in fact heard the conversation, he was minutes away from a world of pain.

''Bout what?' she asked heatedly.

''Bout White. What else?'

'Oh!' she said, relieved.

'Let me guess,' Alec continued, 'he's going to check on it.'

_Duh!_

'Yeah, how didja...?'

'It's like you and your "Alec I'm gonna kick your ass" or "Alec, shut up!"' he said, imitating her with a smile, 'Logan always says that… along with the oh, so popular and worn out "and Max… be careful". They're his trade mark. You think he pays royalties?'

She smacked him on the back of his head, softly.

'You… are such a jerk,' she said with a playful, yet small, almost unseen, smile.

'It's part of my nature, you know? Jerk on my cocktail,' he answered, in his typical smart-ass way.

'Whatever,' she said, again with that playful smile, which now was visible for all of those willing to see it. Alec saw it. And without noticing it, they found themselves staring at each other's eyes, completely lost in hazel and dark brown eyes.

'Hey, Max!' said Biggs, and then mentally beat himself up when he saw what he had just walked into.

'Hey!' she answered slowly, as if snapping back to reality.

Alec's eyes stared at him with a disorientated stare. 'Hey man,' he simply said.

'Hey… so, I heard what happen with White, Max. That sucks.'

Max did not commented much about it, she just shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes, which could be translated as a "Yeah, well, I'll live".

'Ok,' he said with a smile, 'so, I'll leave you guys… with… whatever you were doing… and… yeah, bye.' Biggs left his friends alone again.

Max stared at Alec again, feeling a little embarrassed, now, about her strange behavior a few minutes before.

'So… I probably should be heading home. Cindy must be worried.'

'Yeah,' answered Alec.

'You want a ride to your place?' she asked politely, not knowing what else to say.

'That's ok, I have my bike. 'Sides, I've got to go to JamPony… explain to Normal the whole Biggs breakthrough performance.'

'Oh, right! D'you think he'll suspect?'

'Nah, Biggs and I covered our asses from day one, so just a little lie and a shocked face will do.'

'Ok,' she answered, nodding assuring Alec she trusted him 100percent with this.

'Ok,' he answered back, not knowing what else to say. This was a first for Alec, actually. He was not the type of guy who could not handle himself with a girl. He knew all the tricks, all the lines. But for some reason none seemed appropriate for this particular girl.

'Ok… well, then… I'll see you tomorrow at work,' she told him, feeling exactly the same way.

'Yeah,' was his answer.

After staring at each other awkwardly for a few moments, Max smiled at Alec and turned around to leave.

Once Max was out of sight, he hung his head down. _Stupid!_

* * *

I know I made fun of Logan, and that's not something that I really like to do for as much as I dislike the guy I really don't think he's **that** pathetic, but I've been watching DarkAngel S2 lately and I recently found out the Michael What'sHisName sabotaged Jensen's character all season long... he convinced the writers to make Alec loose that pool game, and a few more things... and I was kinda pissed off about that... so, payback's a bitch! I mean, are you really that low of selfesteem that you have to talk the writers into making that stupid scene up so you couldwin a lame-ass pool game? What ever! Alec got a whole episode on him, and what did you get? a stupid and unlikely performance at Freak Nation, who no one really bought! and you got dumped by your beautiful, 10-years-younger girlfriend the moment she realizedwhat a loser you are... With that out of my chest... Thank you for reading this story, please come back soon!... and sorry if I offended someone! 


	15. Chapter 15: Lame Goodbyes

Hey, I'm back with a new chapter… I was rather shocked to see that a 5-page-long chapter became an 11-page-long chapter that I was actually content with. I really like this one; I manage to kick the fluffiness of the last part out, to let room to a comic fluffy kinda moment between Max and Alec. It's not hilarious but rather realistic, so I really liked it… anyway… I'm out, please enjoy and reviews are always welcome…

**

* * *

****Chapter 15**

'Cindy! I'm home!' called Max when she entered through the door of her apartment. She found her friend Original Cindy on her bedroom, reading a book. Wuthering Heights could be read in the cover.

'Hey, boo,' she said putting her book down, and went to the living room, where she found Max sitting on her ankles on one of the armchairs, very cat-like. 'Ya got your home-girl worried. Where were you? Terminal City?'

'No… Well, yeah, but I bumped into White,' her friend answered.

'Oh! Well, that must be a hell of a good story...'

Ten minutes later…

'Oh, my,' was all Cindy could utter, as she sat on the couch.

'Yeah. My life has become an ironic joke… yet, again.'

'That sucks,' her friend replied.

Funny, that is the only thing people could think of once they heard the story.

'Yeah, it sucks. But, hey, it's my life! If it wouldn't suck, I would be totally out of balance,' she said with a smile, which OC returned as well. 'Should've seen it coming, ya know?'

Cindy thought a moment about what had happened at JamPony during Max's and Alec's absence, and after what her friend had gone through that day, she was not sure she would like to hear about it. But, before she was able to prolong that line of thought, Max spoke again.

'Logan was at TC when I got back. And I told him; the truth about my "relation-ship" with Alec.'

The dark woman was actually flabbergasted, for as much as she loved Max, she knew the girl, and Max was not one to be straight forward when it came to her emotions. Exhibit A: One year around Logan, and doing nothing about her feelings towards the man; exhibit B: lying to Logan about her relation-ship with Alec; exhibit C: lying to Alec about her feelings towards him; exhibit D: lying to Logan yet again regarding her and Alec. She could go on, but this was the general picture. Once she understood what Max had done, she felt proud of her boo in that she was beginning to break the thick walls that surrounded her constantly. She was starting to feel. Good or bad. Happy or Sad. It did not matter, for she was feeling.

'What did he say?' she asked Max.

'Well… not much… It was so surreal. I was standing there, telling him that I don't love him anymore. He just… looked at me and kissed me on the forehead.'

'Huh…'

'Yeah… weird. But…' Max was trying to express her feelings, but, even though this was Cindy she was talking with, it was so difficult to do. 'I kinda wished I was still in love with him.' Cindy observed her friend in silence, as her friend shrugged in defeat and carried on. 'I don't know… He always made me feel so secure. And I know I can't be with him for so many reasons, and I **don't** want to be with him… but there was this little part of me that wished I would.'

'Boo, that's just normal. Ya guys were togetha fo' so long, ya're not gonna forget him overnight, sugar. Even if there were no Alec, OC really thinks this is the right decision.'

'I know,' said Max, agreeing.

'Did ya tell Logan that you like Alec?' asked OC.

'Well… no, I didn't think it was necessary for him to know. Enough I finally told him the truth ´bout what I feel ´bout him!'

'Did you tell Alec?'

'Nah, we were kinda busy,' she said, remembering that they had not really been busy. There she was back again; the old Max, the one who avoided her feelings like the plague. 'I'll tell him tomorrow.'

OC smiled.

'So,' said Max, hoping to change the subject. 'How was your day? Did Normal flipped again 'cause I went MIA?' she asked with a smile.

Cindy did not want to mention any of what had happened but felt the need to at least mention something.

'Something happened at JamPony today, but OC's not sure if ya'll wanna hear it.'

'What happened?' _My life!_

'Maybe OC should tell you tomorrow, after ya have a nice sleep and a good, cold shower, uh?'

'No, now, Cin. What happened?'

At that moment, Cindy thought maybe this was the right moment to tell her. She would find out eventually.

'Well, two things happened, and Cindy ain't gonna lie to you: none of 'em was good.'

'Ok?'

'Well, everyone was trippin' over Biggs coming out of the transgenic closet.'

Max nodded in deep thought. 'Yeah, we sorta figured that out. Alec said he was going to talk to Normal; feed him a bunch of lies to get him off his ass.'

'But, that ain't the bad part, boo. Three agents showed up at JP today. Apparently, someone recognized him.'

'What? Please don't tell me they found anything on me or Alec,' answered Max, thinking that if they had then Alec had walked right into a trap the moment he set foot in JamPony to talk to Normal.

'No, they didn't. Your girl here got you covered. But Sketchy totally freaked out when he saw one of them, and he told Original that that was the guy who kidnapped him after he took those pictures of the transhuman. So, OC sneaked into Normal's office and stole the files of the transgenics and, well, hers. OC's address was there and that could lead them to ya.'

'Ok, great!' said Max, feeling a little more relax.

'Not so much. Sketchy saw me and figured it out.' Max's face told Cindy she was about to be killed. 'But, don't worry, boo. OC and Sketchy had a little talk, and he was totally cool with it.'

'He was "cool" with it?' inquired Max, not believing her friend.

'Yeah, he promised he wouldn't say anything. And Cindy believes him.'

Max sighed. 'Fine, if you trust him…'

'Cindy does.'

'Ok, I'm going to bed.'

'Sweet dreams, suga.'

**

* * *

****Next day at JamPony...**

Max entered the place where she worked and saw Sketchy near the lockers. She approached him, ignoring Normal's reprimands.

'Sketchy,' she said with a blank stare.

'Max,' the lanky man answered with a not so blank stare. He had been afraid of Max before knowing she was a trained killer made in a lab, with superhuman abilities, so saying that he was scared was mild. He was terrified. And Max knew it, she could sense it. But she had to give the guy some credit, he had not crapped his pants yet.

'We're cool?' asked Sketch.

Max answered a few moments later, after looking at him straight in the eyes, nothing but coldness in hers. 'Of course,' she said with a smile, her eyes worming up to her friend, and they hugged, to Cindy's great pleasure, who was staring at them from the counter.

The day went by. Max told Alec Sketchy knew about their true nature, but assured him that everything was ok. Despite Max's claim, the blonde X5 had a little talk with their friend Sketch. He explained to his ordinary friend how dangerous it would be if he ever exposed their secret, not only for them but for poor Sketchy. Alec did not threaten him, of course, he just wanted his friend to realize the many dangers of knowing the truth and the importance of keeping the secret safe.

That night the gang went to Crash. They had a new member; she was an X5 called Cece. She had been in Seattle for a couple of months, trying to get by, until she met Max at Terminal City. She heard Max talking about a place called JamPony, where she worked, and how easy it was to get a job, as their lame ass boss was a bit of a half-wit, so she thought it would be a good idea to apply for a job there, and as many of the employees left Seattle because of the transgenics, Cece got the job. Sweet irony.

Max sat at their usual table, along with Sketchy, OC and Cece, when Alec arrived. He joined them with a pitch of beer, and sat with them to enjoy the slight normality and freedom from responsibility that these nights meant for all of them, especially for Max and Alec.

They were laughing hard at something old Sketchy had said, when Cece decided she wanted to play some pool.

'Hey, Alec, wanna loose some money on a pool game?' she asked Alec, first.

'Nah, I'm gonna have a drink at the counter,' he answered.

'Ok. Max?' she tried again, 'No? What about you, Sketch?'

'Ok, sure,' said Sketchy, with a shrug. If he had to choose between loosing his paycheck to Alec or Cece, he would choose Cece; at least she was a hot chick!

Alec needed to talk to Max, he needed to run something through her, but he decided to leave that for latter, saying: 'Max, before leaving come find me. I heard something you might find interesting.'

She nodded quite curiously, 'Sure.'

Alec left towards the counter and sat there as he asked his usual Scotch, so once he was gone, OC asked her friend what was that all about. 'I've no idea,' she answered. 'Probably something related to TC.'

'TC, uh?' repeated OC. 'He's really into it, dunnit?'

Max shrugged. 'I don't know, I guess so.'

OC smiled knowingly.

'You know, you should go over there and just tell him already,' expressed OC after a few moments.

'Tell him what?' asked Max.

'That you want to jump his bones,' she said easily.

'OC!' said an outraged Max.

'What, boo? Ya obviously want to, so what's the point on keep pretending you don't?'

'I'm not gonna go over there and offer myself to him!'

'OC's not saying that. What she's saying is that the boy wants to talk, and you want to talk to him about the Logan dealio, aiight?' she asked, pressing Max into doing what she had said she would.

'Right… so?'

'So, why doncha ask him to walk you home?'

'What!'

'What?' asked OC innocently.

'Are you crazy? It's like writing "desperate single woman looking for sex" on my forehead!'

'Well, arencha?' asked Cindy, making a little fun of her brown-eyed friend.

Max seemed to have had an answer ready but two second after, she reconsidered it.

'Not the point. I don't want to seem desperate,' answered Max, taking a swing of her beer.

'Boo, he's there,' said Cindy, pointing at Alec's figure sitting on one of the counter stools, 'all alone, sending the ladies away… OC bets he'll love to hear whatever you gotta say, and walk you home while he does it.'

Max smiled, 'I don't know, OC.'

'Boo, just go over there and take a chance.'

Max thought about Cindy's last words for a moment as she stared at Alec's back, and decided to take the first step into whatever she wanted to start with Alec.

'Hey,' she said as she sat next to him over the counter.

Alec was not doing much, just staring at the glass of Scotch, lost in deep thought.

'Hey, you're leaving?' he asked as he saw Max with her jacket already on, thinking that she was actually going to stay longer this night.

'Umh, kinda,' she answered, successfully hiding her nervousness off her voice.

'Got a minute so we can talk?' he asked very busyness like.

'Actually, I'm heading home,' she started, not really sure how to propose this without being too obvious; but, what the hell? Being vague with Logan had not worked, so maybe the solution was being obvious. 'Walk with me?' she finally asked.

Alec was not sure if he had heard correctly. On second thought, he had a perfect X5 hearing, so he had indeed heard correctly, the problem was he was not sure he understood what she meant. _You've been quiet an awful lot, answer already! _'Sure,' he said, coolly.

They left Crash quietly after Alec paid the bartender for his drink.

Gas was not cheap and not found in many places, so Max saved as much as she could of whatever she could get her hands on. Walking back home was not something that frightened Max at all; it was the only way back home from anywhere in a post-pulse America. But, for some reason, she felt skittish on this particular night as she wandered around the dark streets she knew so well.

'So,' started Max, hoping to ease some of the tension that seemed to be growing between them. 'What was that you needed to talk to me about?'

'Right. I talked with one of the X5s you brought back with you from your last visit with White, and he told me something pretty interesting. While he was in there, they were testing something, some sort of new high-tech equipment.'

'The "recent technological breakthrough" Senator McKinley was talking about,' Max interrupted him, remembering the Senator talking to the reporters a little after the incident with Biggs.

'I think so. Rave said—'

'Who's Rave?'

'The X5,' he answered with a smile, thinking that Max would just love to name them all. She had a name fetish. 'Anyway, he told me he over heard White's conversation with one of his men, and apparently it picks up X5's body temperature and can identify us from the rest of the ordinaries.'

Max listened intently to what Alec was announcing. She sighed. 'Great,' she whispered. That was just great. So, removing their tattoos was no good anymore. There was nothing they could do to elude this one. 'What are we going to do about it?' she asked Alec, really wanting to know what his thoughts were regarding this situation.

He sighed as well. 'I don't know,' he answered, feeling a little tired as he rubbed the stubble on his jaw with the back of his hand. 'I don't think there's much we can do about it. Except, pay attention and be alert 24/7. Maybe we should all start carrying a cell phone to call base in case anything happens.'

'Guess you're right. Welcome to the XXI century, right?' she said, remembering his words a long time ago. She never got herself her own cell phone, and Alec had always nagged at her because of that. _A stupid beeper cannot get you out of a jam_, were his words regarding this subject.

He smiled remembering that conversation and so many others that went along those lines.

They kept walking in silence. Max was still dwelling on the information Rave had provided them; this was not going to be easy and she knew harder times were approaching.

They had already passed the sector checkpoint, which meant they were close to her place, and it was then that Max was finally pulled out of her reverie by an inner voice, her conscience as she liked to call it, very much like Cindy's. The little voice was threatening to smack her ass if she didn't tell Alec what she had meant to tell him when she asked him to walk her home… huh. _Better said than done! Well, it can't get any worse. I mean, I already asked the guy to walk me home, which it must've been the strangest thing he has ever heard from me. _

It was true, actually. Alec thought that her request had been a little out of place for Max. But, as she had been acting so un-Max-like, lately he had decided to indulge her. How many times had she apologized to him in the last month and a half? Twice. And she had meant it. She had, also, thanked him three times full-heartily, which is why Alec still remembered them. And that is more than Max had ever thanked him or apologized to him in all the time they have known each other.

'Alec,' she said then, breaking the silence that lied between them for the last ten minutes. He looked at her, expectantly. 'There's something I need to tell you.'

'What is it?' he asked, feeling a bit unease. The fact that she looked somewhat terrified was making him nervous.

'It's about what I talked with Logan.'

'Ok,' he answered, not sure what to expect.

She hesitated a couple of times, and she was not sure how to start. But Alec and his curiosity and annoyance helped her to get started.

'Please don't tell me you told Logan we're… I don't know, gonna get married, or that you're pregnant, 'cause I'll kill you if you did,' he stated, both serious and joking.

'No!' she answered quite annoyed by the fact she could go that far. 'Actually, quite the opposite.'

This increased his curiosity even more. 'Ok. Shoot.'

'I told Logan. I told him that you and me being together was a lie, and… what I really feel 'bout him.'

Alec knew, even Max had never confirmed it, that the lie she had told Logan was her way of applying the brakes on her relation-ship with the old, bespectacled man because she was probably confused or maybe overwhelmed. He knew her like that, though he would never admit it out loud, because they were not so different from each other. _And now she talked to him, exposing the truth of the matter and realized she is meant to be with Logan, and she must be feeling like an idiot for ever doubting her undying love for the man. Stop, I'm gonna be sick!_ He thought in his most sarcastic voice.

'So, you guys are finally together. I'm really glad for you, Max. You deserve it,' he told her with his best smile, pretending to be happy for her, when he was actually hiding the bitter sweetness that lied on his soul.

_He thinks we made up… and he's happy about it? I think OC's loosing her touch. How the hell am I supposed to tell him this if he's all, like… HAPPY for me and Logan? _She thought, annoyed, wanting to slap Alec on the head until he passed out, and drown Cindy on the bathtub… until she passed out, at least.

'No,' she immediately said, not succeeding on hiding her irritation. 'No, Logan and I…' Before Max could tell him, a small, dubious voice over ruled her conscious, and started placing questions on that little head of hers that never rests. _Should I tell him? I mean, he's like happy for me, so what if this means he doesn't like me the way I like him? What if he doesn't like me and I go and tell him "hey, I'm not with Logan" and he figures out that I like him? He won't let it go! I'll be the laughing stock! He'll probably tell all his Manticore buddies and then I'll no longer be the 09er, but the 09er with a crush on 494! **Don't make me go ove' there and kick yo ass! **_Her Cindy-like inner voice yelled. This was weird. Two voices inside her head, battling with each other, and she still did not know what to say. **_This whatchu always do! You doubt! You let Logan pass by 'cause you were not sure and now look at you two… look at all the drama you've been through fo' nuthing, 'cause you don't even love 'im anymo'_** That was true. **_So, get your act back together, take a breath… and finish the goddamn sentence 'cause he's looking atcha and he probably thinks you're crazy! _**'We're not together,' she finally finished.

'What?' the blonde X5 said, stopping dead on his tracks. He had not intended to react like this, but again, he had not been expecting her answer either.

'Well,' Max tried to say, but he interrupted her.

'You're not together?' he asked, making sure he had indeed understood what she meant.

'No,' she simply answered.

'Huh,' was all he had to say.

Then Max was not in love with Logan as she had claimed so many times; at least, not anymore. He was not sure when did this happen, when or how she had stopped loving Logan, but, at the moment, he did not care, because he was weighing then his chances with the dark eyed woman walking next to him.

Max nodded. He was not laughing, which was always a good sign. But he was not saying anything either, which was not really a good omen, with his constant yapping as proof that the man could not shut his mouth; of all times, he had to be quite this one time, when she really needed to know what he was thinking.

'Well, this is where I leave you,' she told him as she stopped at the entrance of her building.

He looked around him and realized where they were. 'Right,' he answered staring at her, expectation on his eyes.

'Thanks for the walk,' she said.

'No problem.'

Max was beginning to feel even more nervous at his lack of words, and she was not sure how to say goodbye to him. Should she smile at him? Should she flirt with him a bit? Should she just say bye and turn around, hoping he would stop her with a kiss? _Too many chick flick movies. _She thought of so many ways of bidding goodnight, but she did the only one she had not thought about.

'Well, goodnight!' she said as she playfully punched him on the shoulder, in a buddy-like manner.

She turned around from him to go up the stairs to her apartment, as she mouthed to herself: _What!_

Alec was not reacting at all. He stared at her back, then to his shoulder, then back to her retreating figure, only blinking. And then confusion hit him. _What?_ He thought as he scratched the back of his head. He stood there, on the same spot, a few more minutes trying to figure out what the hell had that been as he stared at the closed door through which she had disappeared, before he started his way back to his apartment.

* * *

PS: when I say fluffiness, I mean it. On the original chapter, this last "scene" happened at Crash and Max just told Alec about telling to truth to Logan and then she smiled at him, and left Crash as she looked at him over her shoulder and he somehow was the only one listening to "There she Goes"… fluffy to the core!


	16. Chapter 16: Stupid Chick Flicks!

**Author's Note**: Ok, new chapter up… like, finally!! I know, I know, it took me forever, but what can I say? Blame my damn Muse! Honestly, I just couldn't fix this freaking chapter as much as I tried!! So, I put my foot down, I graved my muse by the hair, banged her head against my desk a few times and threatened to slap her silly until she lost her "musing" powers unless she inspired me enough to get this chapter over with… sigh So, voilá! See, sometimes violence does work!!

Oh!! And thank you every single person who reviewed!!!! You guys make my day everytime I find a review!

* * *

**Chapter 16:** Stupid Chick Flicks!

The existence of the thermal scanners had became a problem to the Xs that looked human enough to be on the streets; specially to those who worked at JamPony. A Buddy System had been necessary. And, of course, Max had ended up being Alec's Buddy. With some help from Logan, they had managed to obtain the location of the Scanners, so they would only have to avoid those specific points of Seattle.

But for the moment, more important matters were occupying Max's attention.

'I mean, I broke up with Logan and I told him. I told him I wasn't inlove with Logan and he hasn't done anything about it yet! It's been two week and he hasn't made a single move on me!! If he was interested in me, Alec would've already made a move on me!! Right? I mean, that's what guys do, don't they? You know what? The theory that Alec is crazy ´bout me is a total fiasco.'

Her stupid display the night Alec walked her home had been left unspoken; it was as if it had never happened, which was completely fine by Max, for she preferred not to talk about it. She would be able to absolutely ignore the fact that she had punched him in the arm as if he were Sketchy if it weren't for Cindy, who would remind her of it every single time she could, in the most embarrassing possible way. Like two nights ago, when they had been having some drinks at Crash, Cindy had decided to leave with her girlfriend, and as she said good night to the group, she looked at Max, and punching her slightly in her arm, she said: 'See ya, buddy!'

'Boo, STOP!' Cindy stopped her. Since they had sat at the table to grave a bite, all Max had done was complain about Alec's inefficiency to properly react to Max's dating situation. 'Girl, I love ya, but ya gotta stop bitching about it, and do something! Alec doesn't know you like him like that. For all we know, he could be afraid of saying anything... Afraid you'd kick his ass,' she stated knowingly. 'I mean, come on boo, ya ain't exactly a sugar cane to the boy. And, apart from that, you're like an amazona, baby. You're strong, independent... He's not use to make moves on someone like ya, girl... All his conquests are stupid bimbos.'

Max didn't feel insulted at all by her friends out burst. Seen from the outside, she had been acting rather girly to the max lately. 'So, what do I do?'

'Well, ya could always...'

'No way! I ain't gonna tell him anything! It would be suicide!'

'Why you say something like that? You don't know what he would say.'

'Well, the first thing to pop into my head goes something like this: "Hey, Alec, I have feelings for you" and he would be all like "Aha… ok, I have feelings for your boobs". See?'

Cindy chuckled. Yeah, Max had a point. But she was 99.9 sure Alec had feelings for Max. Alec was an unreadable person most of the time; but there were moments when he would stare at Max and you could see he actually enjoyed looking at her, or talking, or even fighting with her.

'Point taken. Then, we move to Plan B.'

'Plan B? We had a Plan A?' asked Max confused.

'We check our sources.'

'What sources are these exactly?'

* * *

**That night at Crash...**

Cindy was trying to talk to a very much drunk Sketchy.

'Come on, Sketch, talk to me. Focus. Has Alec ever said anything ´bout Max? Something that would make you think that he likes her?'

'Well, little lady, my information will cost you,' he said, winking his left eye, not knowing that if he ever did that again, he would lose it.

Cindy just stared at him with her It-Ain´t-Gonna-Happen look. Which Sketchy understood completely, even under the under the influence of all the alcohol he had consumed.

'Ok, ok, I'll cooperate. What do you want to know?'

'Cindy wanna know if Alec ever told ya something that made ya think he likes Max.'

'Define "likes".'

'"He likes her" as in "all he thinks about is Max".'

'Now, why do ya wanna know something like that?' he asked curiously.

'Just curious. Are ya gonna answer or not??' Cindy said hitting him on the shoulder, letting him know what was gonna happen if he did not talk.

'Ok! Alec never said anything to me 'bout Max,' he slurred.

'Ya mean nothing?'

'Yeah, nothing. He only said something 'bout her when I asked him where they had met. He said they had met on Max's vacations, which I thought it was weird because Max told everyone she had been absent for her heart transplant. But who was I to tell the great Monty Cora he was lying? Hey... where did they meet, anyway? I bet they met at... Manticore,' he said the last part in a whisper.

'Yeah suga'. So, nothing else?'

'Well, there was this one time I saw both of them in this strip club... together,' he said insinuating something to Cindy, which she understood. God, she was spending too much time with Sketchy. _Wait! Strip Club? _'So, the next day I asked him what had happened and he said nothing, that Max was just a friend and he wouldn't do that to her.'

_Huh... That could mean something..._

* * *

**.:FlashBack:.**

'_Come on Max... I'll go to talk to Sketchy, get him drunk so he won't remember a thing, and you talk to your boy Biggs.'_

'_But if I ask him, he'll know I like Alec and he'll tell the ass 'bout it!'_

'_Max, if I could, I'd talk to him, but he's at TC, and OC ain't transgenic... Just try to be... subtle. Ya know? And stop acting like a school girl, k? Ya can't be afraid of asking your friend if Alec has a thing for ya... So just go!'_

**:.End FlashBack.:**

So, here she was, at TC, searching for Biggs instead of being at Crash having fun and drinking as she usually did every Friday night... well, almost every night.

She went to the HQ first to say greet the guys. Luckily, Biggs was there, helping Dix with some computer equipment.

'Hey, Biggs,' she greeted from behind, taking the man by surprise.

'Oh! Hey, Max. How've you been?' he said, turning around to face her.

'I'm good. Listen, could I talk to you?'

'Yeah, sure, what's up?' he asked, very curious for Max seemed rather nervous, and he could not think of one thing that could make Max nervous like this.

'Let's go outside.'

'Ok. Hey, you wanna check out my new crib?'

'You already found a decent... "crib" here?' she asked as they left the building to the cold streets of Terminal City a.k.a. Freak City.

'Well, it's not decent, but it's salvageable. You know, some paint, a few curtains. It'll be lovely.'

She smiled. 'Ok, let's go.'

* * *

The place was small, dark and it had a funky smell. She didn't know how Biggs could live here, but she guessed that if she were in his same situation, she would probably be here, at Terminal City.

'Take a seat,' he offered. 'You want anything to drink? Actually, I don't have much... I don't even have a fridge, so,' said Biggs.

'It's ok, don't worry.'

'Ok,' he said as he sat next to her on a very beaten couch, 'So, what did you want to talk about?'

'Ok,' she said, realizing this was it, and repeating to herself that she could trust Biggs. They were all grown ups. She could do this. 'You'd say we're friends, right?'

'Yeah,' he answered, feeling rather unease at her sudden seriousness.

'And if I asked you a favor you would do it, right? You wouldn't tell anyone, if I asked you not to?'

'Right... Max, are you offering me sex? Because, I gotta tell you—'

She hit him in the arm. It was more of a reflex than anything else. _Grown up, my ass!!_

'Is that all you men think about?! Man! You know what?! Forget it!' she spat, getting up to leave, but Biggs stopped her as he held her arm.

'Sorry, sorry. I didn't really mean to say that... honestly,' he said, with puppy eyes that were oh, so familiar to her. 'You wanted a favor,' he said so Max would keep going with what ever she wanted to say. She sat down again.

'I need to ask you something... and you have to promise you won't tell anyone. Not even Alec.'

'Alec? Uhm... sure, yeah, I promise,' he shrugged, thinking that her request was even odder than her behavior.

Max hesitated a couple of times. This was a bad idea and she knew it. But if she wanted to know what Alec's true feelings towards her were, she'd have to ask Alec's best friend. Luckily, Biggs was her friend too. They had managed to develop a nice friendship during the time he had worked for Normal, before being busted by the police.

'Ok. So, uhm, has... Alec ever said anything... to you that... would make you think that he... might've... feelings... for me?'

Biggs looked confused at first, but immediately his eyes started getting bigger and bigger until he finally said: 'You like Alec??!!'

'What?!' answered Max, as shocked as Biggs. 'No! I-- no!'

'Then why do you ask me something like that??' he enquired, not able to hold the smile growing on his face.

'Because—It's just-- I meant-- YES!! I LIKE ALEC, OK?????!!!!!!'

He couldn't believe his ears. This was too funny to be true! Max was into Alec and Alec was into Max and they both were trying to discover what the other felt. This was like damn chick flick! But, there was something not in place in this whole thing. He wasn't entirely sure what Alec really felt for the brown haired girl sitting next to him. Biggs hesitated but at the end he said: 'No, Alec has never said anything to me about you.'

A small part of Max had actually started to believe that Alec might feel something for her... anything. But Biggs had totally destroyed that bit of hope.

'Oh... Nothing?' she asked, hopeful that Biggs would remember something.

'Well, no,'

Biggs remembered a talk he had had with his friend at his old apartment, the one that now belonged only to Alec...

**.:FlashBack:.**

'_Are you inlove with Max?'_

'_What?! What the hell are you talking about?!' Alec asked staring at his friend with astonishment and a mix of annoyance._

'_Come on, dude. How long have we known each other? Too long, and even though Manticore never approved bonding, we were friends; hopefully, still are. So don't play the fool with me, k? Because I saw you leaving Crash tonight, the way you left. As if you had been defeated. And you know why you were so upset? Because I was talking to Max. I'm not stupid.'_

'_Well, apparently you are, because I have no idea what you're talking about,' said Alec standing up, leaving Biggs on the couch, to get some beers from the fridge._

'_Oh! Come on Alec! You can't tell me you don't fell at least a bit attracted to her!' Biggs stated._

'_Attracted, yes. Inlove, no. Max's hot, yeah, and it would be a dream come true to take her to bed, big deal. But that's all it is. Hormones. Not love, just hormones,' the blonde X5 said as he handed Biggs a beer._

'_Fine. If you say so,' said Biggs giving up. _

_Alec opened his beer, 'I say so.'_

**:.End FlashBack.:**

'Sorry.' Biggs knew with all his might that Alec definitely felt something for Max other than friendship or whatever else a man could feel for a woman, but he couldn't tell her that; he couldn't tell her his suppositions or what his instincts told him. Not when he wasn't absolutely 100 sure of it. Like Alec had said, it could just be hormones. But still, he felt like shit. Max wasn't even looking at him; she was just staring at the floor, with a blank face that, as Manticore alumni, he knew that face was just a mask for her true feelings.

'Yeah,' she simply answered, as she tried to get a grip. She wouldn't allow herself to cry. Never.

'You should talk to Alec,' the dark haired man said.

She laughed bitter sweetly at the thought of it. She had dismissed the idea from the beginning. 'No way.'

'Well, if you don't talk to him then you'll never know. You—' started Biggs, but stopped, for his patience was starting to wear out thin, and he had an urge to kill his two friends and be over with the drama. 'You two are both too stubborn. At this rate you'll never know.'

'Whatever,' she said dismissively. 'Just... promise.'

'Yeah, don't worry. I won't say anything to Alec ´bout what we talked.'

She stood up very slowly and went to the door. Just then, she looked at Biggs, for the first time, over her shoulder. 'Thanks, anyway,' she said and turned the knob of the door, only to find the object of their conversation.

He looked confused about finding her here, at Biggs place, in the middle of the night.

Biggs had not seen his friend, for the angle of the opened door would not allow it, but as he saw Max just standing there with the door opened, and, well, not leaving, he moved a little towards Max, and stood right behind her.

'Hey,' he greeted his friend.

'Hey,' said Alec, though he still looked confuse.

All Max was thinking at the moment was whether he had heard her talk with Biggs or not, and without realizing it, and not able to stop it, she blushed.

Max Guevara, uber bitch, kick ass chick, was blushing over a boy.

Funny.

'What're you guys doing?' asked Alec, sounding accusingly despite himself.

'We were just—' Biggs tried to say, but he was interrupted by Max.

'Hanging.'

'Right,' added Biggs, feeling like he was suddenly in the middle of something, and he wasn't sure what exactly.

'Well, I'm, uh, gonna head back home,' Max announced suddenly not able to look at Alec, so she opted to stare at Biggs instead.

Max left in a too awkwardly way, which bothered Alec quite a lot. He stood there staring at Max's back disappear down the stairs of the building's second floor where Biggs was staying. Once she was gone, he looked at his old friend, who was still standing by the door.

'Wanna come in?' asked Biggs.

Alec went in and his senses immediately enhanced to look for something to explain the weird moment between the three of them. His nose trying to pick up any smell, his eyes trying to find any clue; but he found nothing.

'So, what were you guys doing?' he asked casually.

Biggs might have been many things, but stupid was not one of them. The way Alec had looked at him, the way his friend entered his apartment, the way he inspected the place like a good little soldier told Biggs Alec was thinking something had been going on in here without his knowledge, and he was ready to bet everything he owned, which, at the moment, wasn't much, that Alec was getting suspicious about Biggs' and Max's relationship. So, a wicked idea popped into his mind. Make him suffer. If the meathead wouldn't confess to him, his best friend, his true feelings for Max, then they would have to do this the hard way.

'Like she said: hanging… though I gotta tell you, bro. This Max, she's a tigress… she likes violence.'

'What?' was all Alec was able to say for he wasn't sure exactly what his friend was implying. 'You mean, you two…' he started, trying to get his friend to spill already what he really wanted to know.

'Uh? Oh, no,' answered Biggs, making sure to sound like a really bad liar. 'Besides, gentlemen never kiss and tell, right, man?'

Alec tried to keep his emotions at check. He knew there was no reason for him to get mad at his friend. If Biggs had, as he believed, slept with Max, he couldn't say anything about it, because: A: she wasn't his, and B: in any case, if he had at least mention to Biggs the fact that he had some sort of feelings for Max, he knew his friend wouldn't have made any kind of move on Max.

He remembered that not long ago, during a conversation back at his place, Biggs had said that he would never steal her from him, but he had claimed she wasn't his to be stolen, and insisted he felt nothing for Max other than sexual attraction.

'Right,' said Alec, quite tensely, though he didn't show. Biggs knew better than that. He knew what to look for, and Alec biting lightly his lower lip meant one of three things: he was, either, horny, nervous, or pissed. Biggs figured it was the latter. 'Well, I just wanted to check up on you. So, I'm gonna blaze,' the blonde X5 stated.

The moment Alec left his apartment, Biggs almost patted himself on the shoulder for the great job he had done. He believed Transgenics were part human, they were not only soldiers. And the most human thing in the world was Love. But Alec was as human as Mole when it came to Love. He either thought he didn't deserve to feel Love or thought it was a weakness. But Manticore and its rules were far gone, and even though Alec thought he had adjusted just fine to the outside world, he had, in fact, not. So maybe if he thought he was going to loose his chance with Max unless he did something, he might actually do something.

As he walked out of Terminal City in direction to his apartment back in sector 5, his anger towards his friend dissipated and in turn, he became angrier and angrier at himself. He had been a fool. He didn't really know if he ever had a chance with Max, but he should've done something, anything to know if she was at least mildly interested. He just hadn't thought someone else would make a move before him, and, for some reason, he never thought Max would give in.

The moment she stepped into her apartment, she knew OC was there but she really was not in the mood for this. Max knew OC would be asking her what Biggs had said. And she had nothing to answer.

'Hey, Boo,' came the voice of Cindy from the darker skinned girl's room.

'Hey,' she simply said, as she made her way to her room as fast as she could, trying not to look like she was running away from her, but Cindy, noticing something wrong, stopped her with her questions.

'What happened? What did Biggs say?'

Max sighed. She knew the question would be asked.

She felt so damn stupid at the moment and she needed to let it out on someone. Usually, that someone would be Alec, but as he was out of reach at the moment, and it had, after all, been Cindy's idea to go to Biggs for the answers she'd been looking for, Cindy seemed to be the party at fault in this God damn train rack that happened to be her life!

'Exactly what I thought he was going to say!'

OC didn't notice the hostility at once, for she had other things on her mind. 'Well, I didn't get much outta Sketchy, but—'

'But nothing, Cindy,' Max interrupted. 'The reason neither you nor me got any kind of information is because there is NO information on the matter!'

'Boo,' said now OC, picking up Max's surly responses. 'It's ok, maybe if we talk to the Dog-Boy—'

Cindy found herself being interrupted yet again. 'No, Cindy, don't take this in the wrong way, ok? But don't. He doesn't want me, ok? No matter how hard you try, or how many people you ask, he DOESN'T WANT ME! Ok?'

Max stormed to her room, after letting out everything that she had been holding in, everything that had been building inside her since she left Biggs' place.

Cindy wasn't sure what to do next, for Max had never acted like that with her. Not even when she had bee all hung up on Logan. She waited a few minutes before heading towards her friend's room.

'Boo?'

Max was lying on her bed, just staring at the ceiling. She didn't know why she was acting like this, so… girly! She wasn't like that and she didn't like acting like that, at least with Cindy. But she just didn't know how to stop this behavior.

'What?' answered Max, still not able to rid her tone from the belligerence she was feeling.

Cindy sat on her friend's bed, 'Come'ere.'

Max sat on the bed without thinking it, and her friend held her.

'Ya aiight. I shouldn't have pushed ya to do something ya didn't want to do in the first place.' Max looked at her with her big, sad eyes, 'But, OC couldn't resist, boo. I know, deep inside, that boy has strong feelings for ya. Don't ask me how, I just do. Trust me.'

'I think he might've heard me,' said Max, after a few moments of silence.

'Who, boo?'

'Alec. He was right outside Biggs' place when I was leaving after I asked him and he told me he didn't know anything about it. I think he might've heard.'

'Well, so what? It was just a silly conversation 'tween friends,' said Cindy as if using that excuse on Alec.

'The thing is that Biggs is not an idiot, and three seconds after I asked, he knew!! And I had to confess! And Alec might've heard!'

'Well, that might not be so bad, girl.'

'You should've seen his face, Cindy. He looked completely confused and- and annoyed.'

'Maybe he didn't hear a thing of what you said. Maybe he was just surprised by see you there.'

Max sighed. This whole situation was making her head hurt and her behavior was starting to annoy even her. It was like she was watching one of those chick flicks Kendra used to love so much, in which the leading lady is a complete idiot during the entire movie and all Max wanted to do was kick her bony ass out of the picture and yell at the leading man not to waste his time on such a looser!

'I'm gonna check on Joshua,' said Max as she stood from her bed and put on her leather jacket.

'You're gonna go back to TC?'

'Yeah, I'm not really tired… and I need to do some thinking.'

'Boo, I love ya, but thinking is the last thing ya should do. You get all worked up on silly things when you think. Just go and hang with Josh. Don't think.'

Max smiled at her friend's recommendation. 'Ok.'

'Ya promise?'

'I swear to you I won't think at all.'

* * *

Reviews are mostly welcome!! 


	17. Chapter 17: Leaving Ordinary Behind

I know, I know: Like, Oh, my God, she finally sat her ass down and wrote this damn chapter! I'm sorry, I've been kinda busy with some finals and my depressing life, and my muse has been teasing with me, to tell you the truth. I've written like three other stories (which will take MONTHS to post, as my damn laziness is incurable!) but couldn't get this done! I was not finding my way through Freak Nation, until I decided to go Alec POV, most of the time, for this.

I must warn you, there are only two more chapters left, after this one, and the ending is not really what you were hoping! HiHi! I'm so evil… I shouldn't tell you this, but I'm starting a sequel. The good part is, that it won't be too long, like The Realization!

So, enjoy this, let me know what you think; if you never reviewed before, review!! And if you have, do it again!

**

* * *

****Chapter 17**: Leaving Ordinary Behind

They were leaving the shelter Jam Pony had become for the last two or three hours. Max, Alec, Cece, Mole, Joshua, another X5 and a young X6 were using the bike messengers as shields. Mole's and Joshua's simple mission had become a hostage situation in their, now, former employment place. This was like her worst nightmare. The people she'd come to know so well during the last two years were looking at her as if she were a freak.

Max stood behind Cindy with her arm around her friend, while Alec held onto Cece, with a gun in his hand. The pregnant X5 and the kid were safely inside the ring of people, most of whom were the bike messengers from Jam Pony. _Everything's gonna be fine, everything's gonna be fine..._ Max kept repeating to herself, as a mantra. All she wanted was for everybody to reach Terminal City in one piece… or alive, at least.

Then, she heard the sound of mild thunder. It happened so fast that she didn't see Cece go down. Someone was shooting at them. Cece was badly hurt. The messengers were screaming and running back inside Jam Pony, looking for shelter. In the second that took for Cece's body to fall to the ground, Max saw how the life of her X5 friend left her body in a heartbeat.

Then, another shot. His hazel eyes looked at her for the last time before his whole body gave in. He could hardly breathe.

'Alec!' she called as she tried to put pressure on his wound. 'Oh, God... please, don't! Alec??"

But the flame that had always been visible through his big green eyes was extinguished, and his soul was not longer there. She called his name one more time as she put pressure to a wound that no longer needed it, when she felt the most excruciating pain she'd ever felt. First, a bullet hit her right arm. Then, another found its way to her guts. But she was gone as soon as the third bullet reached her brain.

Max's eyes snapped open. She was breathing hard. Where was she? What had happened? Then she remembered. She was in her apartment; she had fallen asleep on the couch. She touched her forehead for some reason; she was searching for something, a wound. She was sweating. What the hell? She couldn't even remember what she had been dreaming about. As her hand remained on her forehead, her eyes got a glimpse of her wrist watch and _Shit!! I'm late!!_

Max got up from the couch and after putting on more suitable clothes for tonight's job, she went out of her apartment, not knowing this would be the last time she would ever do so.

* * *

_Drug dealers don't have a sense of humor when it comes to money._

Max was driving her Ninja through the streets of Seattle with a briefcase tied to the rear of her baby. She was still a bit shaken by the dream she'd had, though she couldn't remember what it had been about. All she could remember was a lump on her throat that wouldn't allow her to breath and tears.

A male voice cried from ahead, 'Get out of here, you freaks!'

_What now?!_ Max thought as she neared Terminal City.

'...Local citizens have begun setting up flaming X's, like this one, outside the fence as a warning to the transgenics inside,' said a news lady to a camera.

'Go back where you came from!' said another man.

'Hey! Freakazoids!'

Max stopped her Ninja in the middle of the street gaining the drunkard's and the reporter's attention.

'Two million years of human evolution and this is what we get. You morons.'

She started her Ninja again and, lifting her front wheel, she rode right through a flaming X made of wood. Then she rode over a ramp and jumped over the railing, landing inside the City.

'What the hell?!' the reporter said, then to her camera-man, 'Did you get that? Tell me you got that!'

* * *

Max hadn't spoken with Alec for quite a while. Since she went to speak with Biggs, as a matter of fact, and Alec hadn't attempted to speak with her either. It was rather odd, really, because he seemed to be avoiding her, though she couldn't comprehend why. But, well, he was really just making things much easier for her.

She entered HQ after handing the briefcase to Mole, who would make sure the money was in good hands. Joshua was making a painting, a painting of all of them, as he had explained. She wasn't really much of an art buff, she never understood why people spent thousands, even millions, of dollars on a picture that no one could really understand; but she sure loved Joshua's paintings. Maybe because he painted about things she could understand, like Manticore.

She saw Alec far away on a corner talking to a female X5, but he, apparently, didn't see her. Well, that was just fine by her. To be completely honest, she was starting to feel annoyed by his stupid behavior, and all she'd been wanting to do during the last few days was smack him on the head.

Suddenly, she felt a strong arm go around her shoulders and her head snapped to her right side to find a handsome smile and sparkling dark eyes staring back at her.

'Hey, Maxie,' Biggs greeted.

'Don't call me that,' she said, her annoyance on Alec transferring to the other male.

'Fine, fine. Listen,' he said, still with his arm around Max, and looked up for a second to find Alec completely aware of his arm around Max, and his charming smile, and the fact that he was talking way too close to her. Of course, unless you were a highly trained soldier, it would have looked like a twitch of the eyes. 'I need to talk to you,' he whispered, although knowing Alec was listening. At that thought, he added, 'about the other night.' _I'm so bad!_ thought a smiling Biggs.

Max's face became still, and immediately glanced at Alec and then back at Biggs. 'Why would you need to talk to me about that here, of all places!' she whispered back. She didn't want to relive the humiliation she had been through the night she confessed her feelings for Alec to Biggs, of all people. She still didn't know if Alec had heard or not, and she was not going to figure that out any time soon, seeing as he was avoiding her like a plague, the same way she was doing.

'Ok, let's go outside,' he offered. She slapped his arm away from her, and started her way outside the building. Biggs followed her, with a goofy grin on his face, for he was loving his plan. He should start calling himself Coop instead of Biggs, as in Cupid.

Once outside, he walked towards an alley, where he knew they would be out of range of anyone's super-hearing.

'So, I haven't seen you in a few days. I wanted to talk to you about something,' said Biggs.

'What can I say? Been busy,' she answered, not able to hold back the exasperation from her voice. She knew Biggs had absolutely nothing to do with her messy life, but she needed to pin it on somebody, and Biggs, being the closest thing to the smart-ass Alec, was the perfect escape goat.

'Yeah, busy avoiding Alec,' he replied smugly. She just rolled her eyes. 'Fine, whatever. Denial seems to fit you, anyway. I haven't seen you in a few days so I **figured** you've been avoiding Alec because of our little talk. So, I wanted to tell you that Alec knows nothing of what we spoke about.'

At this, her features softened. 'Really?'

'Yeap. He just thought we were going at it,' he finished as if he just happened to remember he had to buy milk on his way home.

Max did a double take. 'What?'

'You know, rocking the Awesome, doing the nasty, going at it like a pig in a tatty… getting laid.'

'I got it!' she spat, ready to smack him on the head. Did he really need to recite the Dirty Roget's Thesaurus entry for "to have sex"? 'My question is why?! What did you say?' she enquired accusingly.

'I didn't say anything,' he lied. 'It was all you. You were so freaked out when you saw him there at my door, that he might've gotten the wrong idea.'

She rolled her eyes in irritation. 'That's just great. Awesome.'

'Come on, Max, it's not so bad. The guy's not thinking straight. Mark my words: tomorrow, after so much thinking, he's going to realize you're not really the kind of girl who has sex very often,' he stated casually. He hoped she would take the bait.

And she did. 'Say what?'

'Well, I mean, it's obvious that you haven't gotten laid in quite a while.'

'My sex life- no, my **personal** life is none of your goddamn business!'

'Yeah, I'm sorry. You're right,' he said, seeing her cheeks turn a slight shade of pink as her anger started rising. 'I mean, it's just that everyone usually say you're always so tense, and bitchy, and well, between your inability to commit and your strange relation-ship with Logan and the Virus dealio, you're not really the "have sex very often" kind of girl in our eyes.'

Biggs was so innocent about that whole comment that Max's anger skyrocketed to sheer rage.

In a flash, she grabbed his ear and yanked him down to her eye level.

'For the last time, it's none of you business!'

'Ouch!... see? Tense! You're- ow! Will you let go of my ear! I'm gonna need it, you know?' he whined.

She let go, but not before she had the chance to release some of her stress on his pretty, punch-able body. A powerful fist connected with his stomach, and before he fell to the ground, trying to get some air back, she slapped him on the head; her trade mark.

She left the grown man on the floor, her smile spreading on her face, a smile that stayed all the way to HQ, where she said goodbye to Joshua and the rest of the guys, for she had other chores to take care of. Alec didn't acknowledge her. Well, if the moron wanted to believe she had a thing with Biggs, so be it.

As she made her way to her bike, a thought crossed her mind, something that could mean everything or nothing: _Why does he care?_

Alec entered Jam Pony on Monday morning all by himself. All his anger and feeling of betrayal again buried inside him, although not deep enough.

'For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good felloooow...!!' sang Normal, greeting his golden boy.

'The man's finally lost it,' said Alec, completely taken aback by Normal's behavior. The fact that he was singing was completely bizarre. Immediately after this thought, Normal handed him a cake. 'Many happy returns. There, buddy boy.'

'It's not my birthday,' Alec answered to his boss's little mental breakdown. Truth was he didn't even know when his birthday was.

'Yeah, it's right there in black on white on your application form,' answered Normal, with a goofy grin, thinking his Golden Boy was just being modest.

'Oh yeah, yeah. Boy, nothing gets by you, does it, Normal?" Alec said taking the cake. He didn't know the day he was born but he could at least enjoy the perks of inventing one!

'Now I made that without eggs and butter, all right? I know you like to look after the ol' physique. Go ahead. Blow it out.'

For some reason, Alec had the feeling this was not going to be a very happy birthday. He looked at Cindy and then blew out the candle.

Normal spoke again, but this time his words were directed at Cindy. 'By the way, if you see your shiftless colleague Max, tell her she's fired.'

'She's gonna be here like any minute,' OC lied.

_Yeah, right. She's probably still in bed with her lover boy_, Alec thought with certain disdain. The image of Max re-entering HQ blushed and with a satisfied smile had hunted him all night. He could imagine the scene that followed Biggs's request to talk about what had happened the "other night", and every time his imagination properly burst into action due to those thoughts, all he wanted to do was bang his head against some hard object, such as a wall, in order to stop the images of sweaty, hardcore sex in a dirty alley between his friend and Max. _Damn it, I need a wall!_ What he didn't know was that both Max and he had fallen in Biggs' little trap the night before.

'Do you think I buy your tissue of lies for like a nanosecond?' replied Normal.

'The man is like a steel trap,' Alec added, as he returned to the conversation that nothing had to do with Max's sex life. He tasted the cake. _Well, I think I just found a more effective way of getting rid of those images! This cake is like a kick in the balls!!_

'You keep covering up for that reprobate, you're gonna be out of here, miss,' Normal warned Cindy.

'Ya promise?' she answered, under her breath as the old man left.

Max was riding back home after a long night and a very uncomfortable meeting at Logan's place. These runes kept appearing, so Logan needed to get updated pictures of all of them; he had said that it would be easier if she dropped by, so he could take the pictures, instead of someone at Terminal City, and then have them e-mailed to him. She agreed, but she never thought it would get so weird. But it got. Logan had been taking the pictures and, then, all of the sudden, he was touching her hand, latex glove covering his hand, with deep affection, and a look in his eyes that, she knew, meant he was still holding a torch for her. She wasn't sure what exactly she was feeling, but love was not it.

She was on her way home in order to take a shower and change into her working clothes when her cell-phone interrupted her thoughts.

Alec left JamPony, ready to deliver all the packages that had been handed to him. Max hadn't shown up yet, which was just fine by him. But just as he was going to start to reprehend himself for bitching so much on the subject, a group of transgenics showed up at the doors of the establishment he called "work".

'Alec!' Joshua said. 'I'm so glad to see you. This is Gem. She's having a baby.'

Alec was not really understanding what was going on. Mole and Joshua out on the streets and with, what he assumed was, a pregnant X5 and a blonde kid; X6, probably. 'Oh, so naturally you thought of stopping by Jam Pony in broad daylight,' was his answer. When he saw Gem and her big belly, he figured what had happened. Problems. He noticed people was starting to stare at the strange group gathered at the entrance of Jam Pony. This was bad. Very, very bad.

'Max said to come see you, and to get a car, and head back—' Joshua was not able to say more for Alec saw the police vehicles arriving near them, and the officers were leaving the cars.

'Don't turn around. Don't turn around,' he instructed, as he, himself, turned around and started walking the opposite direction. 'Keep walking. Keep walking.'

But one of the cops had already spotted them, 'You, in the hood! Drop your weapon!' he ordered Mole.

Just then, another police car arrived from the other direction, cornering them.

'Drop the weapon now!' said another cop, as they aimed their weapons at the transgenics. 'Put your hands on your head!'

'Don't move!' ordered a third cop, with his gun aimed directly at them, representing a threat to them.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa!' Alec dropped his bike and raised his hands, showing he was carrying no guns. Things were getting bad at an incredibly quick pace. Yeah, a hell of a great birthday.

Mole shot once into the air and grabbed Alec by the collar of his jacket. He was using Alec as a hostage, which, at the moment, seemed like the best ides Mole had ever gotten, according to young X5.

'Back, or he's dead!' Mole warned the law-enforcement officers.

Joshua pulled Gem closer to him in order to protect her, aiming his fire-weapon at the officers, but Gem pulled his hand down so that the gun was pointing at her.

'I said: stay back or he's dead!' Mole warned again to the police. 'Play along,' he, then, muttered at Alec in a low voice.

'Yeah, no problem.'

Mole pulled him into Jam Pony; Joshua, Gem and the kid right behind them.

Alec saw as the messengers opened to give way to the "freak-show". Everyone was quiet. He could see the fear on their faces. Fear of the Transgenics.

'Don't blow my cover,' he whispered to Mole.

'Got a back door?' Mole demanded with a menacing tone, still playing the abductor's role.

'Yeah,' the young X5 answered.

'All right, nobody move!' Mole now said yelling at the rest, as Joshua closed the front door.

When Alec opened the back door, they found themselves with even more police patrols. The police officers were taking aim, and, apparently, they didn't care if they shot an ordinary or transgenic, as long as the "trannie" menace was taken care of.

'No, no, no, no, no, no, go back!' Alec yelled to the rest. They turned on their heels, but Alec was not fast enough to dodge a bullet that was fired his way.

They went back in only to find Normal, now, aiming at them.

'Hold it right there, freak show! You're bleeding,' he said to Alec, at the sight of blood starting to run down his shoulder.

'Yeah,' Alec answered, checking the wound as much as he could, but never losing his cheeky personality. 'Bullets will do that to you.' The bullet had gone right through his left shoulder; he could feel the bleeding was heavy, but he knew it would slow down in a few minutes. It was not the first time he had been shot.

'Okay, you're safe now,' Normal assured Alec.

Alec sighed, and assessed the situation. Cops outside, with guns; Normal inside, with a gun. Knowing there was no way out of this for Josh and Mole, he realized what he was about to do for his friends. This would be the last time Normal would consider him his Golden Boy, this would be his last day with an honest employment. No longer the employees of JamPony would look at him and envy him or desire him… they would fear him from now on. This would be the last time he would be considered normal. He held a smirk: _Who wants ordinary, anyway?_

'No,' he stated a few moments later. In a swift and strong move, Alec twisted Normal's arm over the man's head and took the gun from his former employer's hand. 'I'm safe now.'

That was Mole's queue to rise his gun and point at Normal, but Alec gestured him to lower it. It wouldn't be necessary.

The bespectacled man held his aching arm against his chest and stared at Alec as one of his worst fears became true. It wasn't even his worst fear, because he had never considered the possibility of his Golden Boy being one of those monsters; but, now that he thought about it, it had been so obvious. The good looks, the charming personality, his skills on the fighting ring despite his sculptured muscles that hadn't seemed as dangerous as they really were the first time he had laid his eyes on the young wrestler. And the most obvious of all: Alec had always had a barcode tattoo on the back of his neck.

Immediately after Alec motioned Mole to lower his gun, one of the messengers tried to run towards the front door, in hopes that he would be able to open it and leave before one of the transgenics got a hold of him.

'No one leaves!' commanded Alec.

Cece stood up and stopped the running messenger, knocking him to the ground. Her normal life and identity had been left behind, just like Alec's, in one swift movement.

'Nobody move!' she ordered to the rest of the messengers, laying on the floor, scared to death.

'Cece,' Alec said, the soldier in him coming to life. Alec gave 494 the space needed to get out of this in one piece. 'Call base. Tell 'em we're in trouble. Joshua, take the front. Mole, you got the back?'

'Got it,' the lizard transgenic answered, as he watched through the back window.

'Kid, what's your name?' Alec asked the young boy, who seemed completely calm despite the circumstances.

'Dalton,' the blonde X6 answered.

'All right, Dalton, why don't you head upstairs and keep an eye on the street for me?' he said, not able to order the kid to do anything. Alec knew he would've been punished by his superiors back at Manticore if he, or any other of the CO, ever "asked" a soldier to do something. All his instincts told him it was bad leadership; but he was not leading. This was not Manticore. They were in this together.

'My golden boy's a mutant,' he heard Normal say, standing on the same spot, still rubbing his arm.

'We prefer "genetically empowered",' the blonde X5 quipped.

'Take me, Jesus,' Normal muttered.

'Careful what you wish for,' Mole warned him from the back window.

Mole never saw her coming.

**CRASH! **

Mole fell to the ground due to the impact and the pieces of glass flying everywhere. Cece took up a fighting stance, ready for anything and Alec aimed at whatever had just crashed against JamPony's window, the worst scenarios displaying in his mind.

But they all relaxed as the curvaceous figure hopped off the hover drone, and Max's face came into view.

'Hey. Who ordered a pizza?' she asked, casually.

Alec was still whatever he was with Max since he started suspecting about her little affair with his best friend, but he was damn happy to see her here.

'Well, you sure like making dramatic entrances,' he joked.

* * *

Review! 


	18. Chapter 18: Freak Nation

A/N: OMG!! This was endless!! Painful, yet exciting!! I hope you guys enjoy it… a lot of M/A Fluff! I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written!

I want to dedicate this chappie to CC!! I hope this helps with your little religious crisis!

And I want to thank all the people who reviewed! All the people who read this, but don't review, and to my Beta, Aileen… YOU ROCK!!

* * *

**Chapter 18:** Freak Nation

The first thing she noticed the moment they settled into JamPony as their shelter was that Gem was in labor. Just in the nick of time! Cindy was next to her, helping her. The second was that Alec was injured. There was blood on his shoulder and, it became even more obvious when he tried to get rid of the leather jacket he usually wore, that he was in pain; it might be mild, but pain was pain.

'Hey, what's that?' she asked, maintaining the emotional distance they'd been keeping during the last few days.

'It's a hole in my body made by a bullet,' he quipped, in the same way.

She nodded, and then looked to the window where the young X6, Dalton, was keeping an eye on the street. Max found the kid oddly familiar but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before. She dismissed the thought, thinking that she might've seen him during her little "holiday" on Manticore, or maybe he shared the same DNA makeup as someone she used to know. She just wasn't sure.

'Dalton, come over here,' she commanded in a soft voice.

The kid looked up and made his way towards her in a quick, yet graceful way.

'Yes, ma'am,' he stated as he stood with the typical soldier's posture.

She rolled her eyes at him and, placing a hand on her hip in annoyance, she spoke: 'Kid, lose the posture and get some attitude, I'm not ma'am, I'm Max.' Dalton looked rather surprised by this, his soldier charade blown to pieces by a command he had not expected. 'Did you do field med?'

'Uhm, no,' he answered as he relaxed his body little by little.

'Ok,' she said as she looked him up and down, many thoughts running through her head. The fact that more police patrols were arriving at the scene was on top. 'Let's go,' she then said, nodding towards Normal's office. 'You need to get that wound cleaned,' she said towards Alec, keeping any sort of emotion from her voice as she also pointed with her head for him to move to the office.

She knew the wound was nothing, but she also knew Alec a little bit. If he whined and complained about an injury, then the injury was nothing. If he was quiet and serious, then there was something to worry about.

'I can do it,' he answered nonchalantly. Max had enough on her plate at the moment, just like everyone else, and he didn't want her to have to worry about him as well. He knew Max was the key to getting out of here in one piece, so he didn't want to become a distraction.

'Normal, you still have the first aid kit in your office, right?' she asked Normal, completely ignoring Alec's statement. The man was sitting on one of the benches and just stared at her, clearly not liking the situation. 'I'll take that as a yes. Cece, take the window, ok?' Cece nodded, as Max made her way with Dalton and a reluctant Alec towards her former employer's office.

Dalton stood uncomfortably in the middle of the small office, as Alec sat on the desk. Max found the first aid kit pretty easily, having helped Sketchy clean up his wounds every time he got beat up by some punk. She saw Alec get rid of his sweater, leaving him in a simple, tight black t-shirt. She took off her gloves and placed the kit on the desk.

'Take off your shirt,' she commanded. She tried to make the command sound powerful and direct, but she just couldn't; she was hoping he would answer with one of his trademark smart-alecky comments, something along the lines of "I thought you'd never ask" or "I guess this is your lucky day", but nothing of the sort escaped his lips. He just did as she asked. She turned around to get a clean towel from Normal's personal bathroom; it hurt when he acted like this, so un-Alec like, and she didn't want him to see that. She remembered a time when everything he ever said would get her to want to rip his head off, but unfortunately things had changed; she had changed, as well as he, and all she wanted was to hear him say something stupid that would make her want to laugh at his stupidity and make her feel more confident in herself. She needed that from him right now, because they were in deep shit, and she wasn't sure how would they get out of there alive. She wet the towel and came back to where Alec sat, Dalton next to him.

'Ok, Dalton I want you to pay extra attention to this.' Max stood next to Alec, on the side of the shoulder that had taken the bullet. She explained the kid this was what was called a puncture wound; the last thing you want to do with this kind of wounds is cauterize them. She inspected Alec's shoulder blade. 'Exit wound, which means we won't have to extract any bullets,' she informed. She examined the wound a little closer, Dalton doing the same next to her. 'No major arteries were damaged. Cauterization is only needed if the bleeder can't be stopped and the access to the broken blood vessels is superficial.'

She saw Dalton frown in confusion. She let out a small smile; he was a soldier, but he was also a very cute kid. 'If you can reach the blood vessels easily; if the wound isn't too deep, which this is.'

Alec stared at Max as she explained to Dalton how to take care of a wound. She had never been this close to him before, physically speaking, and as mad or nervous about their current situation as he might be, he just couldn't help feeling mesmerized by her coolness, and how gently she was speaking to the small soldier next to them.

'I'm going to clean the wound, and then patch it up with some gauze. The important thing about these suckers is to never close them until they've had enough time to drain out. If you put in stitches before it got any time to heal, it can get infected, and, to tell you the truth, it's kinda nasty. Got any questions?'

'Don't think so,' he answered.

'Ok, 'cuz if any of us gets hurt I want you to take care of this, ok?'

'Yes, ma'am- Max,' he corrected himself.

'Go,' she told him, and a few seconds later he was going up the stairs to relieve Mole from his guard duty.

Max cleaned the wound on Alec's shoulder tenderly and in silence. Alec didn't dare look at her. They were in the middle of a very big problem, and he still couldn't stop thinking about his current love life's situation. He wasn't mad at her or Biggs really; Alec had always rolled with the punches and hit the floor running, but he was also very rational, no matter what Max said. If Max and Biggs hooked up, there was nothing wrong about it. His friend didn't know what he felt about Max; he had asked, and still he denied it. And, of course, he didn't say anything to Max. She had just gotten out of the most twisted relationship he'd ever witnessed, so confessing his feelings for her when all he was to Max was an annoying screw up was not going to help him.

So, he was just mad at himself, because he didn't know how to deal with the situation. He had never been taught about love or feelings, so this was all pretty much new. He would have to research further on the subject.

The wound hurt but he was positive it was not bleeding as heavily as before, which was a good sign, but he knew this would become a problem as soon as their current hostage situation started scaling. All he had to do was remember his training; he had been a lot worse in much worse situations.

Max cleaned both wounds and began placing the gauze over them. He wasn't speaking, which was a very bad sign. She wasn't sure his silence was due to the wound, their current situation or because he was pissed at her for whatever he thought was going on between her and Biggs. _Don't be so self-centered, Max, there are more important issues at hand right now. _But she still needed Alec there; the Alec she knew, not super soldier Alec.

'So, I guess your cover is officially nonexistent as of today, huh?' she asked casually as she placed some tape on the gauze over the back of his shoulder.

He looked at her hand working on the gauze, suppressing a wince. 'Yeah,' he simply answered.

She paused a moment, and looked at him, hoping he would look back, but that never happened. 'Thanks. For stepping up for Josh and Mole.'

He paused a moment, for Max's tone had drastically changed in a few seconds. They'd been so distant and cold towards each other lately that the tenderness her words carried took him back to the few moments Max had spoken to him in a rather decent way.

He looked up at her eyes, and he knew he was lost; his anger and whatever he was feeling was gone.

'Yeah. There was nothing else I could do,' he simply answered.

She finished his arm but didn't move away. She could smell him entirely. That smell that had always been very Alec, mixed with the iron scent of his blood. She looked at his eyes, and just like him, she was lost.

'Alec, there's something I wanted to talk to you about, because, well, I don't think there'll ever be a better time than right now,' she said in a hushed voice; she could literally feel the air being pulled out of her lungs at this moment.

'Tell me what?' he asked, frowning in confusion.

She paused a minute, thinking about exactly how to carry on. 'You could've just asked me.'

His frown got deeper. 'Asked you what?'

''Bout me and Biggs.'

He looked at her eyes trying to understand her action. Why was she talking about this with him? Why now, of all times?

A slight snort escaped his mouth. 'It's none of my business,' he quipped, using the exact words she had used on him one too many times.

Her eyes left his and she looked down at his hand lying on his thigh.

'There's nothing going on between Biggs and me. That night… we were just talking, you know?'

As he stared at her, his face softened and the confusion locked in his frown disappeared. _Was he that transparent? Was it that obvious?_ These were the questions running through his mind.

'I don't know the exact reason why you've been avoiding me,' she carried on, with the usual tone of voice that said she was trying to be rational; 'but I just thought maybe this was it and I brought it up so we can get past this, get out of here in one piece and talk about it later.' She honestly hoped this was the reason Alec had been so distant lately, because, otherwise, she was making a fool out of herself. She noticed Alec wasn't saying anything, he would just stare. She would give him five seconds before she slapped him upside the head if he didn't stop doing that.

'So, if you and Biggs aren't together, why have **you** been avoiding me?' he suddenly asked, slowly but loudly. Confusion and annoyance mixed in his usually playful voice.

Max looked down, detaching her brown eyes from his hazel ones, and as much as she tried to hold it back, a slight blush crept across her cheeks. Alec got a glimpse of that moment before she moved in order to take the wet towel and the rest of the first aid kit back to the bathroom, as she spoke shyly, yet strongly. Max was blushing again; he had only seen her blush once, maybe twice, the night he found her at Biggs' place being the only one he fully witnessed.

'We were just talking about something and I thought you might have heard, that's all,' she explained quickly.

'But why would you avoid me like that?' he asked pointedly, his eyes never leaving her.

'Well… because…' She sighed in annoyance at her lack of words. There was so much she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure she was ready or even if the time was right. 'Because it was embarrassing, ok?'

Alec thought for a moment, his silence driving Max insane again.

His already soft frown, smoothed even more until it was gone, and was replaced with a curved left eye-brow; his lips curved, as well, in a small smirk.

'What makes you think I didn't hear?' he said, trying to make her take the bait, which he knew she wouldn't but he hoped that, at least, he could unnerve her a bit.

Her eyes went wide as a goldfish's, to Alec's great amusement, and the blush that had only been concentrated on her cheeks now traveled down her neck, going from light pink to a darker shade. In less than two seconds, her expression changed to one of irritation.

'How can you possibly know what we were talking about?' she demanded, as she walked back to his side. 'After all, you wouldn't be asking me why I've been avoiding you if you knew,' she stated matter-of-factly.

She was right, as he knew she would be. But that didn't help the small pang of jealousy at the thought of the conversation she was keeping from him. What could possibly be so embarrassing that she couldn't tell him, yet she could tell Biggs?

She was still next to him with a smug look and her arms crossed. She looked beautiful, and for a moment he forgot where they were, and what they would have to do. The same happened to her. He was acting like the Alec she knew and loved again, and it helped her relax, because she knew, now, he had her back.

And, then, they were lost again in each other's eyes, for what seemed like the nineteenth time that day, but this time, none of them had anything else to say that could break the spell. His hand unconsciously traveled to the side of her face and he placed a lock of hair behind her ear, something he had done once before, also unconsciously, but this time he would not retreat in the fear that his feelings would put him in a compromising position, because from today, he decided he wouldn't care anymore.

Max's smug expression became softer, and then she did the unthinkable and leaned into his hand, into his caress. It felt so good to be touched, especially by Alec. He had big, yet soft hands, a fact she already knew but never gave much thought to. Her eyes reflected her wanton desire in a way she had never felt before. She felt lightheaded all of a sudden.

Alec got up slowly, still with his shirt off, thinking maybe he wasn't imagining it. He saw that in Max's eyes. The need. The desire. He knew it was true, it was there. But then, like a bucket of cold water, his cell rang. He looked at his jacket, lying over Normal's desk, although his hand never left Max's cheek. In just a second, he looked Max in the eyes, a silent promise they would continue this line of thought later, and got his phone out of his leather jacket.

'Yeah,' he simply answered.

'It's Chris. I'm outside. It's a pig farm out here. No doubt the feds or White'll be here in any minute,' said a manly, low voice.

'Yeah, I know. Call me if you hear anything.'

'Sure thing,' said the voice, before hanging up.

'Who was that?' Max asked, already out of their little trance.

'Chris. X5. He's outside. He'll call if something's up,' he answered, his soldier training coming back to the surface to take control of the situation.

But Max, for some reason, wouldn't allow him, at least not there, not then when she felt so at peace and secure. She knew that as soon as they started discussing their current situation, everything would start all over again. The fear, the insecurity, the uncertainty.

'Chris? I don't know him,' she stated simply as she handed him his t-shirt.

'Just 'cause you didn't name him doesn't mean you haven't met him,' he teased.

'Haha, very funny.'

He smiled one of his charming smiles. He really thought those had no effect on her whatsoever. Little did he know that her knees were going weak. 'Tall guy, dark brown, long hair. Lean. Handsome.'

'Alec, you just described every single brown haired X5 I know.'

'He's always hanging around HQ. I can't believe you don't know him,' he teased her again. 'He's 6 foot and very quiet; he helps around med bay a lot.'

'Oooh. The one with the t-shirt of the insects.'

He stared at her for a moment, not really believing he was hearing this. 'It's the Beatles, Max. Don't you know who the Beatles are?'

'I don't know, some punk band.'

'Oh, my God,' he simply stated, as he took his jacket, and throwing it over his sweater. Just as they were leaving the office, the phone Normal used to get orders rang. They both knew it was time to negotiate their way out of there.

* * *

It's been less than an hour since an unknown number of armed transgenics and transhumans barricaded themselves inside this building, the offices of the Jam Pony messenger service, but already angry crowds have gathered, shouting anti-transgenic slogans.

Just moments ago, an unknown woman apparently commandeered a hover drone. She somehow rode it over the police cordon and into the building in which the suspects are barricaded. Police believe that the woman is also a transgenic, apparently come to the aid of the suspects inside.

Somewhere in Seattle, a superhero was getting ready to save the day and the woman he loved. He walked confidently towards his Superhero suit and put it on, testing it worked fine for he had a few people to save.

What the-? Oh! No, sorry. That's just Logan and his exoskeleton. The old man and his Transgenic-wanna-be complex.

* * *

'How's it look?' asked Alec to Chris, who was outside among the crowd, contemplating their options. Max was peering out through the partly opened gate of JamPony. Their ride had arrived.

'Not good. There are snipers on the roof and the bus door's on the opposite side,' the X5 answered.

Alec sighed, 'Yeah, it looks pretty messy,' he stated. He looked at Max, thinking what their course of action would be. 'We've got snipers and the door on the other side,' he informed Max and the rest. 'We're gonna have to use the messengers as shields,' he finally said, knowing this was the only way to reach the bus.

She sighed as well, but she also knew this was their only option. 'Ok,' she told Alec.

Alec spoke again to his phone. 'Call base, tell them to be ready for our arrival. We'll use some of the messengers as shields.'

'On it,' Chris answered. On the outside, the brown haired X5 took another cell phone and dialed a number. When a voice answered he relayed Alec's message and hung up.

Meanwhile, Alec nodded at Max to do what she had to do.

'Clemente! I'm gonna need the snipers on the roof pulled back, or no deal!'

The shooters pulled back.

'All right, you're clear,' said Chris.

'Ok, we're doing this. Keep an eye on everything,' Alec ordered his friend, and hung up.

'We're ready to roll,' he said to Max.

She, then, yelled at the cops again, 'First group's coming out!' and nodded at Alec to open the gate completely.

The messengers left as they followed Clemente's orders. Once the messengers were safe behind the barricade he spoke to Max, 'Okay, 452, the keys are in the vehicle. Your ball.'

'Okay, guys. They're not going to shoot at us. We got a kid and a pregnant girl. They don't know which ones are transgenic and which aren't,' Max explained to the scared messengers and to her people.

'Yeah, well, a couple of us they got a pretty good idea,' said Mole, grabbing Normal by the back of his neck in order to use him as a shield. Normal looked as if he was about to faint.

'They saw you, boo,' said Cindy to Max, 'flyin' right over their heads. I got you.' The dark skinned girl put Max's arm around her. Max had always admired OC; she was the only real friend she ever had for she had accepted her for who she really was, and she knew Cindy would always have her back, but seeing her actually do it made a few tears of joy fill her big eyes.

'Thanks,' Max said to her friend; and she meant it.

'They don't know about me,' Cece said to Cindy and Max. At that moment, a funny feeling crept up Max's spine. This felt rather familiar, though she didn't know why; it was what ordinaries called déjà vu.

'Then help me protect my boy here,' Cindy said referring to Alec. Max remained quiet, thinking about this weird feeling, but immediately snapped out of it, telling herself she had to concentrate on getting her people and her former co-workers out of there alive.

'All right,' she finally said. 'Let's file in, guys. Come on.'

It wasn't until they were outside that the feeling of familiarity hit Max like a torpedo. The crowd surrounding the area, the police, the bus, Cindy in front of her, Alec and Cece right behind her. And that's when she saw it, she remembered it. Her dream. The snipers. She looked up, but didn't see Clemente's shooters; though, as she examined a little closer, she saw the rifles on the cracks of the windows.

Max stopped dead on her tracks and yelled, 'Everybody in... GET BACK IN!!'

Alec stared at her not understanding, as well as everyone else. It was in that precise moment that Logan jumped over a police car yelling "_Max!"_ and shooting his gun to the air. The shooting between the ordinaries and the transgenics started, but everybody was already safely inside Jam Pony, except for Mole and Alec who were still shooting at the snipers.

Max looked for Cece, who was standing near the counter with a bloody shoulder. Max rushed towards her friend, remembering what her dream had foretold about the blonde X5's destiny.

'Cece, are you ok?' she asked, as she examined her friend's arm.

'Yeah, I just need some patching,' she answered, concealing very well how much the injury really hurt.

Max was panting, her mind going crazy, trying to understand how could she have dreamt about this the day before.

'Ok,' she said, and then looked for the young X6. 'Dalton!' The kid looked up from where he was standing next to Gem. 'Take care of Cece,' Max ordered. She then moved towards Gem, to check on her. 'You ok?'

Gem only nodded for the contractions were not allowing her to answer.

Max nodded in reassurance. 'Is everyone ok?' she asked in general, looking at every person inside the building, looking for blood. There were no more injured that she could tell.

Alec and Mole re-entered JamPony and secured the door. Max turned around, remembering Alec had been injured in her dream as well. He had died in her dream. Without thinking, without assessing the consequences of her actions, Max threw her arms around Alec's neck and held on for dear life.

Alec found himself with a couple of strong arms around his neck. The scent of Max's hair hit him, and knew immediately the arms belonged to the girl that owned his heart. He embraced her in the same way, not caring about the consequences either.

'It's ok, Maxie. I'm ok,' he whispered, knowing she was worried about him. His chest tightened at the thought of Max worrying so much about him.

Logan witnessed the display of affection between the two X5s; he was surprised at such display. Max had said nothing was going on between them, but this proved the contrary. They were either together or they were about to get together; it was pretty obvious to him, and everyone else who stood witness, that they had feelings for each other. Jealousy and anger impeded him to breathe properly; there was nothing he could do regarding those feelings. He couldn't be happy for her if Alec was the man she chose. Alec, who would have killed him without blinking not nine months ago; Alec, who had stolen their opportunity to be together when they had been so close to finding the cure.

Max heard Mole ordering the messengers to get down and to stay there, although Mole's voice and all the other noises were not as loud as Alec's heart beating next to her ear.

She was relieved that Alec was ok. She sensed a powerful need to cry, but she controlled that feeling. It was just not the time.

She let go quickly, as did Alec, for both knew they still had a job to do.

'They tried to kill us,' Cindy said to her friend.

'Go take care of Gem,' Max asked Cindy. They couldn't panic right now.

'Why did they do this? We did everything they wanted,' Joshua asked immediately after Cindy moved to help the pregnant transgenic.

'This is on you,' Mole spat suddenly. 'I told you not to trust the cops.'

'It wasn't the cops,' Logan said all of a sudden.

This was the first time Max noticed Logan's presence inside JamPony. Her mind had been so preoccupied about the dream during the shooting, preoccupied that something might actually happen to Alec and Cece that she didn't see Logan do his stunt, and get inside along with Alec and Mole.

'Logan? What are you doing in here?' she asked. He had called her after Clemente had done the first contact. She explained to Logan that they already had someone outside, and that he should head home, for it was dangerous for him to be exposed like that. Apparently, he hadn't heard her.

'I saw White. Those were White's snipers,' he answered.

It wasn't really a surprise. They knew he would show up sooner or later. This was probably his way of taking control of the situation. If he was here, there was no more Clemente, which meant their only way out was in plastic bags.

'They screwed this whole thing up on purpose to escalate the situation,' Max said, now understanding what had happened outside, though she still couldn't explain the dream.

'Yeah, well, it worked,' Alec expressed, feeling as annoyed as the rest. He looked for Dalton but he was busy helping Cece with her wound. He moved slowly towards the back, his shoulder was killing him. He looked through the window; the police were standing still, which was good for now, though he didn't know how long they would be safe inside. White definitely wanted them dead, nothing would matter, not even the messengers; the snipers had taken a shot at Cece, and they didn't know what she was; as far as they knew, she was just another scared employee.

He could hear Mole complain about their situation and the fact that Logan was in here, but he didn't care right now, he was paying attention to what was going on outside so he wasn't very interested in one of Mole's tantrums. That was until the lizard guy graved his friend Sketchy by the back of his neck, stating he would be the first hostage to go.

He looked back to find Max gripping Mole's arm in order to let go of the lanky man, but Mole, just like Joshua, possessed an even more powerful strength than any of X5s or above.

'What are you doing?' she spat out.

'Until we get safe passage, we kill one hostage every hour, starting now,' Mole explained, matter-of-factly.

'Let him go!' Logan ordered suddenly, which was not the best thing to say to a transhuman who had issues with ordinaries.

'I don't take orders from your kind,' he snarled.

'No, but you take orders from me,' Max said dangerously. 'Now, let him go,' she ordered.

'No! We gotta show them we mean business, or we're dead!' the lizard man said.

This had to be the most stupid thing Mole had ever thought. If they started killing people, there was no way ordinaries would get over it. They already wanted them dead, so if they killed anyone today, there would be no turning back; people would hunt them until the day they got a hold of them and killed them in the most brutal way.

'All right, people, listen up!' shouted Max, in order to stop the fight between Mole and Logan, for, otherwise, it would end up with an unconscious ordinary on the floor. 'If we don't stick together, we don't get out of here alive,' she said to everybody inside, both humans and transhumans. 'You understand that?' she spat out at Mole, trying to get the message home.

'Okay,' Mole finally said as he released Sketchy. 'Okay. But if they come near the building, I start taking them out. Come on, Joshua.'

He, then, walked away, towards the upper story in order to secure their perimeter. Joshua was right behind him, with a guilty glare and slumped shoulders.

Alec shook his head from where he stood near the window. They were breaking apart, and that was exactly what White needed to make his move.

* * *

**ONE HOUR AND TWENTY-THREE MINUTES LATER**

The night had fallen over the streets of Seattle. People were still outside Jam Pony, with their trannie-hate banners and chanting for the death of the trangenics.

Everyone inside was tired and anxious. Max was looking out of the window, trying to find White, but he was nowhere to be seen. The fact that White was there and that they haven't received any more calls from Detective Clemente and the police had taken the bus they were supposed to have driven all the way to Terminal City only meant White was now in change, which also meant that they would be receiving a visit from him soon. And all because of what? Her? The stupid runes? She couldn't let White take out every person that meant something to her, since those people were all inside the building. Josh, Cindy, Sketchy, Logan, Alec.

'It's me White wants. I'm going out there,' Max suddenly said to Logan.

Alec, who was standing close by, raised his eyes as Max's words hit home. _What? _Ok, maybe Mole's idea of killing the messengers wasn't **the** stupidest idea, after all.

'No way,' Logan stated immediately.

'He wants this thing to end as badly as possible and I'm not gonna let that happen.'

'Max, you're not going out there,' insisted Logan, but he was interrupted by Mole, who, just like Alec, had listened to Max's idea.

'Look. If all of this is about White getting Max, I mean, specifically Max, then I think she should go out there,' the big lizard man said, supporting Max's idea.

Just when Logan was about to argue again, Alec joined the conversation; a conversation that everybody was now listening to.

'Ok, I hate to break it to you all,' he began with his usual smart-alecky tone, though this time it was dripping with exasperation; 'but even if Max makes it, we will still be here. It's not just about you, Max. He wants us **ALL** dead; you're just like the cherry on top, right now.'

Max gazed Alec, for, surprisingly enough, he was right. She felt ashamed for a moment for thinking that this was all about her. She'd been so caught up with the runes and what White had said when he had read them, and his presence here that for a moment she felt she was all alone again to deal with everything by herself. But Alec had pointed out something true. She wasn't alone anymore, and this wasn't just about her.

'Max, listen to me,' Logan said, interrupting Max's thoughts. 'After you left, I translated the new runes on your skin. I think it's complete now. The symbols have multiple meanings, but the gist is something like, "When the shroud of death covers the face of the earth, the one whose power is hidden will deliver the helpless".'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Max asked. Her annoyance had sparked when she realized she was being a bit selfish, only thinking about White, the runes, and herself; but now that Logan had actually mentioned the runes and told her what they meant didn't help her at all! What exactly did that whole phrase mean? Why did Sandeman have to do this so damn hard?! Couldn't he have simply written: "Hey, you'll have to do this and that"?

'It means something really, really bad, like maybe biblically bad, is going to happen,' Logan answered, trying to clear Max's doubts as much as his. He still wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but something bad was definitely going to happen, and apparently Max was the key to preventing it.

'And you're the one who's gonna stop it,' Cindy finally stated, giving the translation the final twist for Max to fathom the meaning of the runes, White, the Cult, Sandeman. Everything.

'Look,' Mole said again, 'I still think that she should get out there. She makes a break for it, let him see her. She's fast; she has a chance at making it.'

Alec couldn't help frowning, gawking at Mole the way he deserved. His plan was full of inconsistencies and it was practically impossible to carry out successfully. The young X5 meant to express how ridiculous his scaly friend's plan was, when he got a glimpse of Max's eyes, lost somewhere in her mind.

Max wasn't paying attention to Mole's explanation. She finally understood why Renfro had taken a bullet for her, nine months ago; why White wanted her dead, more than any other transgenic; what the Cult was all about; why Sandeman had created her and all her fellow transgenics. She now understood the dream. It was all connected.

Logan's "forget it" was completely ignored by both X5s. Alec slowly moved towards Max, sensing something wrong. As he stood right in front of her, the first thing Alec noticed was that she didn't react to his near presence. She wasn't alert to what was going on around her as she usually was. She was gone.

'_Then he'll leave us alone because he knows she's gone.'_

'_No. No. Out of the question, Mole!'_

Alec disconnected himself from the argument between Mole and Logan, and paid all his attention to Max.

'Max?' he called to her softly, but she didn't respond.

'_Wake up, chimp! We're out of options here!'_

Her body suddenly felt numb; from head to toe.

'_No, **you** wake up. If she is the key to saving millions of people from some kind of apocalypse—'_

She looked at Mole and Logan; they seemed to be fighting. She could barely hear what they were saying. Alec was holding one of her shoulders, concern dripping through his eyes and he wasn't trying to conceal it, something she wasn't able to see everyday. What scared her was that everything her eyes saw, everything her ears heard was in slow motion. She could hear Alec calling her name, but as much as she tried to answer him, she couldn't find her voice to do so; as much as she tried to move, she just couldn't.

'_Your people or my people?'_

Was this what people felt before dying? This was probably just like her dream; Destiny's way to tell her her time was up. Or was she just caving to the pressure? Was she going crazy?

Before that train of thought could carry on even more, the quietness, the numbness on her body, everything was suddenly gone, and she had to unexpectedly welcome all her senses back in. She could, all of the sudden, feel everything, smell everything, hear everything, though everything in front of her was still in quiet, slow motion.

'_People! Human beings like you and me!'_

Alec was trying to get Max back to the land of the living when she turned around, leaving his hold.

She turned around as she heard that low, husky voice she feared and hated so much. The sound seemed to be coming from right next to her, but he wasn't there; she knew that as much.

"…_**the hostages?"**_

"_**Let's show the viewers at home what the mutant menace does to innocent people. Take out the hostages, the freaks, the kid...take out anything with a pulse."**_

It was White. He was outside. She turned back to Alec, and without further ado she informed Alec what she knew was happening right outside the doors of JamPony. 'They're coming.'

* * *

Ok, that was LOOOONG!! Next chapter will come out faster 'cause I have to finish her speach, and then the last chapter! I've a sequel in store, so... I hope you guys read that one too!!

Review and let me know what you guys think... favorite moment, favorite line, are they out of character, did you hate the Logan bashing (sorry, that Transgenic-Wanna-Be comment has been on the story since I fist post it in 2002, but I swear there won't be much Logan bashing next chapter... the fighting scene turned out awesome!!!), did you hate Cece not dying?? Let me know! ... I could still kill her, if you guys want ;P!!


	19. Chapter 19: Freak Nation II

A/N: So, sorry it took me so long to update. I've been busy with other things; it's a surprise! Ok, so, I hope you like this. This chapter was betaed by Miss Aileen (THANK YOU AGAIN!!). And thanks to every single person who reviewed!!! You guys make my day every time you reply!!

There's only one more chapter to go... :D

* * *

**Chapter 19**: Freak Nation II

Alec didn't understand what she was talking about. He immediately signaled Dalton, who signaled back. The coast was clear.

'They're coming. Carry Gem,' she told Cindy. 'Come on, let's go!'

'I don't hear anything,' Mole informed her, as he made good use of his genetically engineered and well trained ears.

'Shah! Joshua, you carry Gem,' Max instructed, not paying attention to Mole.

'Max, we're clear,' Alec told her. He was starting to think she might have lost it.

'Don't argue with me,' Max answered tightly, although she stopped a moment to look at Alec. He saw in her eyes the truth of her words. She really believed it, and he had believed in her since the moment he met her. He could feel what she was feeling; he suddenly knew what was going on inside her head.

'Familiars?' he whispered.

She simply nodded. The simple thought brought fear to her heart. The familiars were attacking, this was it; they knew this was coming, but it hadn't been real until now. There was always the possibility they were mistaken. And although some of them would probably not make it, maybe Mole, maybe Joshua, anyone she cared about, all she could think about right now was Alec, and only Alec. She wanted to kiss him, she was afraid she wouldn't have the chance later, but she had to keep her head in the game, just like Alec.

_Just don't die on me._

'Dalton, let's go. Come on. I need everybody upstairs right now. Let's go. Follow me.'

* * *

**UPSTAIRS ****- JAMPONY**

Max ordered the messengers to hide at the back of the place. It was untidy, dusty and there were mannequins everywhere, as well as shelves and, basically, a lot of junk Normal kept up there for some reason. She wondered what the hell he did with so many mannequins.

She placed Gem, who was already in labor, in a small office next to where the messengers where hiding; Joshua was carrying her, and Cindy, Dalton and Normal were right behind them, as they were assisting with her delivery.

'Logan,' she said once Gem was secured behind an old desk. 'I want you at the back, with the messengers.'

'What?,' was all he could say.

'We're being attacked by familiars, Logan. This'll be dangerous, for you and for everybody; including ourselves.'

It wasn't lost on Logan the way Max referred to her and the rest of the transgenics. It suddenly hit him that Max was one of them, really, and he just didn't belong there, although he felt insulted; he had Joshua's blood running through his veins and he was using his exoskeleton. He could help.

'Help the guys at the back, keep them quiet and keep them low.'

He nodded, although he didn't agree. Max turned around, but he held her shoulder. As she turned around, he looked at her, knowing and understanding now who she was and what she was; all the romantic notions he'd had about Max being different were gone, not by his own choice but hers. He still loved her and respected her; he just wished he could kiss her right now.

'Take my gun,' he spoke softly. 'Maybe Cece can use it.'

She took the gun, nodding at him. She appreciated Logan's help, all the support he'd always given her, but now was not the time for "thank you"s or chick flick moments.

She saw Cece position herself behind a beaten desk, placed against a glass window. As Max caught Cece's attention she threw the gun at her, and Cece, with transgenic reflexes, caught it with no problem.

She heard an explosion, followed by many gunshots. They were in. She saw Alec and Mole rush through the door; Alec closed it behind him, and they both moved towards the columns on both sides of Max, as she commanded them to take cover.

Alec and Mole were out of ammo, but Cece's gun, Logan's, still had some.

'Wait for my signal. We hit hard, we hit fast and we don't back off. This is for all the marbles people.'

They heard a window glass break, their ears picking every single move. They heard the familiars touch the ground with trained silence. They moved slowly around, searching the place.

Max signaled with her hands to each of them; they all gave thumbs up in response.

One of the Familiars opened the door and White and another soldier entered. The Phalanx and White passed by the columns but the transgenics were no longer there; as soon as they did that, Mole, Max and Alec fell from the ceiling, taking them by surprise. Cece stood up and fired Logan's gun, and she made good use of all the bullets left. Two hit the Familiar's chest, which was definitely bulletproof (either because he was wearing a vest or because they were freaky like that), two to the right arm and one to the right thigh. Max had already told her what these people were made of, so she knew her opponent would not feel any pain whatsoever; she just hoped the loss of blood would help bringing him down.

Max was the first one to fall, surprising the three Phalanxes; Mole was next, and Alec fell last. Although his arm ached, he managed to hold the Phalanx's weapon, and use it against her. The helmet was lost in the fight and a long, black braid dangled from her head. The woman was strong, a fact Alec didn't find amusing or surprising. He heard shooting from his right, then shooting from his left. The Familiar put up a fight and got control of the situation. She pushed Alec against one of inner glass windows, and they both fell on the other side of the wall. He fell hard on the floor, her weight on him as well as his; her torso fell on his injured shoulder causing Alec to gasp in pain, and loosen his grip on the woman.

She took that chance to get on top of Alec and immobilize him, although it seemed to be a hard task. He delivered a punch for every punch he received, and tried to get her away from him, but that, as well, seemed a hard task.

The familiar Cece had shot at fell to the ground, giving the X5 the time needed to jump through the glass towards him, but the man had been ready, for he kicked Cece's small frame in mid air, making her land right next to him. She rolled away and stood up gracefully just like the man. They circled each other until the Familiar made the first move. His fist seemed to be made of bricks; she'd never fought someone quite like him, but she wasn't scared. Worried, yes; but never scared.

The Phalanx Max got to fight with was a red haired, big woman, who seemed more a man than anything else. "452," she had said, trying to make a dramatic introduction, but all she got from Max was a sassy, annoyed "just bring it".

The woman was strong and fast. She fought dirty just like Max, which meant she would have to bring out her best moves.

Once Alec managed to get the bitch off of him, she attacked him with the first thing she found, which was one of the mannequins. Alec ducked immediately, and landed a few punches on her face, but she held on his arm, connecting her knee with his guts, and then she threw both of them through, yet, another window, landing on a table.

The dark haired Familiar tried to land a punch on his face but Alec stopped it, and with all the strength from his spine he knocked her nose bridge with his forehead. She landed on her back; Alec, for the first time since the fight had started, took a breath as the woman tried to clear her face of all the blood that kept gushing from her nose, and he kicked her in the guts, leaving her breathless. They might not feel pain, but they still needed breathing to fight back. She tangled her legs with Alec's, and he fell as well, not so far from where she was.

Cece kept fighting back, although the man was much stronger than she was. She was on top of him, punching his not so pretty little face again and again, hoping to break his jaw, when he saw the red stain on her right arm and adventured his hand and fingers towards the wound. He stuck a finger inside Cece's injury, making her scream from pain, and applied even more pressure until he saw his opportunity and took it. He punched her face hard, and Cece fell to her side. She got up immediately, ignoring the burning running through her entire right arm, but he had gotten up first. He grabbed her by her short, blonde hair and rushed her into a wall, in order to squash her head against the brick wall; she knew what was coming, and she also knew the Familiar thought this was it. He thought a little pain would make her weak. How little did they know about transgenics, she thought with a smirk on her face, a few inches away from the wall right before she crashed his nose with her left elbow. He let go of her hair because of the impact, and Cece took the chance to finish this fight once and for all. She kicked him hard on he's knee-cap, busting it, and blurred to his back, graved him by the hair and vented his hear into the wall. The man fell unconscious on the floor.

With a winning smile, she took his handcuffs from his pocket and handcuffed his hands together.

Alec got up in a blur, and landed a high kick to her face, once she got up as well. He felt the cracking sound her jaw had made the instant his boot collided with her bone. She fell to the ground, clutching her jaw because, although she couldn't feel any pain, she definitely felt there was something wrong with her jaw. Alec grabbed her by the arm, and with some impulse, he twirled around, throwing her across the room. He wasn't sure exactly what she had slammed into on her way to the floor, but she was out cold by the time she hit the ground.

He handcuffed her immediately.

The woman fighting Max was strong, but Max was strong as well, and they could have been there all night long trying to see who could win, but they had to get out of there, and it was time to finish this fight. She stole the Familiar's handcuffs and got one of the cuffs on the woman's wrists as she kept hitting Max's face. The confusion that made the woman hesitate was all Max needed to get them both up. The red haired Familiar reacted quickly though, bringing Max closer to herself and trying to choke the X5 with the chain of the handcuff. Max moved towards a column right in front of them, bringing the familiar with her, and Max flipped over, landing behind her opponent. With the strength she had left, Max swung the woman around the column and handcuffed her other hand, so she was embracing the concrete column.

Max breathed hard, trying to catch some air. Her face was stinging, and she knew it would be black and blue by the morning, just like the rest of her body. She felt exhausted and all she wanted to do was sleep for all eternity.

Alec stopped moving his left arm once the fight was over; he was certain the wound was bleeding again, and he would have a bitch of an infection. Plus, it hurt too much. Alec moved to an unconscious Familiar, one of Mole's victims, placed his knee again the back of the man's neck and handcuffed him as he exclaimed, 'Max! Clear!'

She sighed in relief at the sound of his voice. It was good to hear him, though he looked like crap. Cece was handcuffing another familiar laying on the floor; she stated 'clear!'.

Mole came with a gun, also assuring a loud 'clear!'.

It wasn't until then that she noticed Joshua was the only one missing. She found him to her right; White was having his ass handed to him by the big fella, and from the distance, she could hear the cracking of White's back bone.

Joshua had his knee thrust into the man's spinal cord, as he put pressure on his chest and thighs. Familiars didn't feel pain, but for some reason, Max felt White might start feeling some.

'Joshua, no. Joshua! No!' Max called, as she kneeled by his side.

'He deserves to die!' he stated, his voice breaking. 'He killed Annie!' The innocent blue eyes she had met almost a year ago on Manticore's basement were replaced by blue melancholic pools, holding back a cascade of tears.

'No. He deserves to die, a lot,' she explained. 'But if you kill him now, the only thing people will remember about today is how some transgenic killed a human being in cold blood...and then they'll never stop hunting us.'

He looked at Max in the eyes, and he knew she was right. White deserved to die, not once but a million times; but this was neither the place nor the time. So he let go of White, and he fell ungracefully to the floor. Joshua's heavy foot kept him on the ground, not that with all the injuries his body had suffered he could even move; Max crouched down and said, a few inches away from his face, 'Bring around your muscle queens anytime, I'll be happy to kick their ass.'

'We are not finished,' White whispered through shallow breathes and a bloody face.

'Fe'nos tol, ya bitch,' Max answered him, flicking his nose.

They all heard the cry of a baby. Coming to the world will do that to you. You spend nine months inside a secure, dark and warm womb, and then suddenly you slide into a cold, bright world where security is just a mere word on a forgotten dictionary. That is, until you smell the woman who has taken care of you during all those months, and then you feel safe all over again.

Gem held the small, sticky body of her daughter as she informed them the baby girl had no barcode. She was free.

* * *

'Throw your weapons out and let me see your hands!' the voice of Detective Clemente ordered.

'So what's your plan now?' Mole asked Max accusingly.

She looked around as she heard Clemente say again: 'Throw your weapons out now!'

'You heard the man,' she finally told the transgenics inside the van.

'Well, this sucks,' Mole told her.

'I fought the law, and the law won,' Alec joked with a grunt, for he already knew what the plan was.

'Throw your weapons out and put your hands where I can see them. Throw them out. Do it!'

Max opened the doors of the van and started throwing the weapons they had gotten from the Phalanxes. Cindy and Sketchy, who were in the ambulance with Gem, her baby girl, and Dalton, did the same. Then they all stepped out, with their hands in the air.

Clemente instructed them to step away from the vehicle and to get on their knees with their hands on their heads. It was especially difficult for Alec and Cece whose arms were very damaged, but they managed with some help. They all dropped on their knees; all, except Max.

She walked slowly, with her hands down, towards the tall, dark man holding a gun and a megaphone.

'452?' he asked.

'You can call me Max,' she answered, as a peace offer.

'I think you better get down on the ground,' he told her. To him, she was just a young girl; he didn't think of her as a monster, a killer like the news said. How could this lovely young lady be all those things, and still not kill one single enemy?

'Actually, I think you should probably go,' she answered, her tone a bit more commanding than Clemente's.

'I'm not gonna tell you again.'

'I'm not gonna tell **you** again.'

That's when Clemente heard noises coming from the sides of the building. As he looked, he was encountered by many dark figures with shiny eyes moving towards them, and it wasn't until they finally reached the light that he was able to see they were all transgenics; some looked normal, some not. But they all held a gun to protect their own.

In front of him stood dozens of transgenics and this young lady, Max, with determination on her face.

'You can try to arrest us all, but you guys might want to call it a night and go have a beer,' she told Clemente and the rest of the cops.

'All right,' Clemente said, knowing this was her way of saying "back off, or else". There were at least ten transgenics per police officer. 'All right, everybody, let's back it up! Outside the fence!'

The transgenics observed in silence as the ordinaries retreat. Once his men were already out, Clemente walked towards Max, his gun safely in the holster. 'You kept today from turning into a bloodbath, and I respect that,' he told her.

'You held up your end, too,' she stated.

'But you haven't won anything. This is gonna get real ugly, and this is way over my head now. These people's lives depend on the decisions that you make right now. I pray you make the right ones...Max.'

Detective Clemente retreated from the city.

'Escape and evade,' Mole commanded. 'We divide up into teams, pick an azimuth, and go to ground.'

'No, we stay here!' Max yelled, overruling Mole's authority.

'In a couple of hours, that perimeter will be completely locked down. Tanks, National Guard, every cop within a hundred miles,' Mole rudely tried to make Max understand what would happen if they stayed.

'Where are we gonna go?' Max asked honestly to the big, green man. She then looked at the rest, 'I can't stop anyone from leaving, but I'm through running and hiding and being afraid. I'm not gonna live my life like that anymore. Aren't you tired of living in darkness? Don't you want to feel the sun on your face? To have a place of your own where you can walk down the street without being afraid? They made us, and they trained us to be soldiers, to defend this country. It's time for them to face us and take responsibility, instead of trying to sweep us away like garbage. We were made in America and we're not going anywhere. So they call us freaks; who cares? Today I'm proud to be a freak. And today we're gonna make a stand, right here.'

She looked around at the transgenics that had lived their entire lives inside Manticore. She looked at those who had lived their lives in true darkness. She wanted this; she needed this. As she had said, she didn't want to run anymore; she was done running and hiding her true self. Hiding had been something she'd done since the moment she stepped outside Manticore's fence, and even though Cindy knew who she was, and Logan knew what she was capable of and Sketchy knew where she came from, she needed to tell the world she was different, and she didn't care. She didn't care. She had people surrounding her who were just like her, and she didn't care at all that they were all freaks. She caught a glimpse of Alec, and she suddenly wished her siblings would be here; she wished Zack was here to help her convince the rest this was for the best, though she doubted Zack would've agreed on exposing themselves this way. She wished Krit and Syl were here. And Jondy and Zane. Even Brian and Mia. She wished they were all here.

'Who's with me?' she finally said as she raised her fist into the air.

Joshua was the first one to raise his fist; he was followed by Biggs, Alec and Cece, and little by little the rest followed their lead. One by one, the residents of Terminal City agreed with Max; they were done being something to feel embarrassed of. They created them, so let them deal with the consequences now. The only one who hadn't joined the mass was Mole; but as he saw every single one of his fellow soldiers respond to Max's speech, he knew there was no point arguing. He could either leave, all by himself, or he could stay and make sure this X5 didn't kill them all trying to achieve freedom.

'What the hell,' he muttered, raising his fist and joining Max on her crusade.

They were staying, and they were going to fight for their right to freedom.

* * *

A/N2: You know I love reviews! Let me know if you liked or not! 


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